


The Truth About Chloe

by Antarctic_Echoes



Series: Meta-Lucifer on AO3 [9]
Category: Lucifer (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, F/M, Fluff and Humor, Meta, Strong Language
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-06
Updated: 2017-02-28
Packaged: 2018-09-22 11:21:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 43,633
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9605633
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Antarctic_Echoes/pseuds/Antarctic_Echoes
Summary: Lucifer and Chloe try to figure out their new relationship while a gunman goes after Lucifer. Meanwhile, Amenadiel tells Lucifer about the circumstances of Chloe’s birth.Sequel to “Face of the Devil”, picks up the next morning of where that story left off.





	1. Confrontation with Mum

**Author's Note:**

  * For [AmyIsARealPhelps](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AmyIsARealPhelps/gifts), [SueBob99](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SueBob99/gifts), [bloodywhitetears](https://archiveofourown.org/users/bloodywhitetears/gifts), [skaoi](https://archiveofourown.org/users/skaoi/gifts), [ScooterThyme](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ScooterThyme/gifts).



> Thank you to AmyIsARealPhelps, SueBob99 and bloodywhitetears for the plot bunnies/prompts (it's a big long fic so your plot bunnies are buried, but they are in there) :D! Also big thanks to skaoi -- you know why! And of course an extra big thank you to my fantastic beta, ScooterThyme, for the excellent beta!
> 
>  
> 
> Disclaimer: Lucifer Morningstar, Chloe Decker, Trixie Decker, Ella Lopez, Mazikeen, Amenadiel, and Charlotte Richards are owned by Vertigo Comics, DC Comics, Neil Gaiman, Mike Carey, and everyone else involved with the Lucifer TV show and comic books. I own nothing and make no money on this. I merely am borrowing the characters for... uh... writing practice.

 

 

“Lucifer!”

Having been fast asleep in his bed, the yell jolted Lucifer awake, sending panic whipping through him.  Was he under attack?  What was happening?  Having been forced to show Chloe his true face -- after which he had been shot -- he just wanted some peace and quiet.  Well, peace and quiet with the detective.  He still couldn’t believe that she had accepted him for who he was the night before!  His heart sang with happiness.

Propping himself up on his elbows, he saw Chloe’s little spawn racing toward him in the green Sol De Javier tee shirt he had dug up for her to use as a nightshirt.  She scrambled on all fours onto his bed before she jumped on him, knocking him back down in the process, then wrapped her arms around his bandaged torso and gave him a big hug.  Luckily his injuries felt much better after a night’s rest, otherwise he would have been screaming in pain.  He let out a distressed yelp at her actions.

But... now what?  Bloody hell, the child was clinging to him like a koala.  What should he do?  Would it be unmanly to scream for the detective to come save him?

“I’m so glad we got to stay over,” the little girl said, grinning at him.  “Whatcha going to make us for breakfast?”

He found himself smiling reluctantly at her question.  Hungry little spawn!  He tried to extricate himself from her clutches.  “Ah. Right.  Brekkie.  Well, what would you like?”

“Can we have chocolate cake?  Can we, can we?” she asked, jumping up and down on the bed in excitement.

“I’m sorry, child, but I don’t have any cake.”

Trixie looked crestfallen, but not for long.  Her face lit up like the sun as she said, “I know!  You can bake one!  Right now!”

He couldn’t help but chuckle at the little girl’s enthusiasm for dessert.  Did he have the ingredients to make one?  Rubbing his hand over his stubbly chin, he thought hard.  “I think I might be able to make you what you desire.”

“Yay!” she cheered, jumping up and down on the bed again.

He hated to deflate her bubble, but he knew Chloe would not be pleased, and he had no desire to have her fist in his eye this early in the morning.  “We have to check with your mother first, though.”

Trixie froze and pulled a face.  “But she’ll say no!”  Without warning she hugged him again and snuggled up on his chest, staring up at him with big, puppy dog eyes.  “Do we have to tell her?  Can’t you just make it?”

Oh no....  Not the puppy dog eyes....

Squeezing his eyes shut against Trixie’s charms, he shook his head.  “N-no.  Your mother will kill me --”

The little girl gave him a huge grin.  “Mommy would never do that.  She likes you too much.  So can you make it for me?  Please, Lucifer?  Please, please, please?”  Trixie’s arms gave his chest a squeeze.

Lucifer’s heart gave a jolt at Trixie’s words.  Heat creeped up his neck and into his cheeks as pleasure coursed through his body.  The detective liked him?  A soft smile touched his face.  She  _ had _ said he was important to her....

“Pleeeeaaaase?  Pretty please with whipped cream and a cherry on top?”

Lost in his euphoria, he didn’t hear a word Trixie said until she nudged him.

“Please, Lucifer?  Please please puuuhhleeeeeeeze?”

“Huh?”  Glancing down at the little girl, their conversation returned to him and he grimaced.  Bloody hell -- after she had said Chloe liked him, there was no way he could say no to her desires.

“Fine.  Let me get up and I’ll make it for you.”  He frowned mightily at the girl, but she just giggled.

“Thank you, Lucifer!”  With that, she climbed off of him and dashed out of the room.

Sighing, the Devil shut his eyes with disgust.  Imagine -- the Devil being manipulated by a nine year old!  Soft... he was getting so soft....

“Lucifer?”

His eyes snapped open at the sound of Chloe’s voice.  Oh, how she made his heart hammer out a fierce beat!  Lifting his head, he saw her standing at the doorway in one of his white silk shirts he had lent her as a makeshift nightshirt.  He had to admit, she looked absolutely lovely in it, like an ethereal faerie.  He’d never wear that shirt again -- he’d fold it up and tuck it away as a memento of the day she accepted him for who he was.

His eyes sketched over her features.  Even with her hair of burnished gold in charming disarray, she was so beautiful that she took his breath away.  For a moment he just admired her like a lovestruck teenager, before giving himself a hard shake.  He had to get a hold of himself -- it was far too early in the morning to be making goo-goo eyes at his detective.  Pulling himself to a seated position against the headboard, he struck a cool, confident pose.  “Hello, Detective!”

Her face was filled with concern as she entered the room slowly, as if cautiously entering a lion’s den.  He wondered why she was so reluctant, when he realized his chest was bare, save for the bandages.  Was she afraid he was naked beneath the covers?  Oooh, and what would she do if he was?  Would they fall into bed and have mad, passionate sex?  The thought filled him with such excitement that he drew up his knees and tented the blankets around his lower half.  No need to let her see just how excited he was....

“How are you feeling?” she asked as she approached his bedside.

“Ah.  Yes.  Well, I’m quite recovered now, thank you.”  His eyes glinted with humor as he gave her a saucy grin.  “Come to have your wicked way with me?”

She rolled her eyes as she sat down on the covers beside him.  “No.  I didn’t want to disturb you if you were resting.”

Disappointment swept through him.  He had been so sure she was worried about his state of dress -- or lack, thereof.  He sighed.  “Have no fear, your little human woke me up.”

“Oh.  Sorry about that.  She likes you a lot,” Chloe said, her eyes gentle as they gazed at him.  Her face grew full of regret as she studied his bandaged shoulder and torso.  Reaching out, she gently ran her fingers across the dressing on his shoulder.

“You could have died,” she whispered, her expression troubled.

His brow furrowed as he cocked his head.  He didn’t understand why she was upset.  “But I didn’t.”

“But you could have.”  She looked down at her lap, her golden hair falling forward and shielding her face from his view.  “This is my fault.  I’m sorry.”

Lucifer was stunned at her statement.  “Why is it your fault, my dear?  You weren’t the one who shot me.”

Her head came up at that, and she stared at him fiercely.  “You wouldn’t have been there if it hadn’t been for me.  You should have saved yourself --”

“And leave you in the hands of that madman?”  He snorted.  “I would rather go back to Hell a hundred times over than let that happen.”

“Nevertheless, I can’t have you getting hurt because of me.”  Chloe shook her head.  “You have to promise me if something like this ever happens again -- if I’m ever in danger -- you’ll stay away and let the authorities handle it.”

Everything inside Lucifer screamed bloody murder.  “No.”

She glared at him.  “Promise me.”

_ “No.” _  Fear crawled up his spine.  She had no idea what she was asking of him.  Mum and Amenadiel had been behind her kidnapping.  If he made this promise, he wouldn’t be able to protect her, and that was unacceptable.  Taking a deep breath, he tried to reason with her.  “Look, love, I’m immortal.  I won’t die.”  He gave her a smile.  “I’m the Devil, remember?  The worst that can happen is that I’ll get sent straight back to Hell.”

Lucifer blinked at Chloe’s horrified expression.  Hadn’t he allayed her fears?  Why was she looking at him like that?  Was she terrified of him being the Devil, after all?  Panic started to filter through him, revving up his heartbeat and making his breaths shallow.

“Detective?”

Her hand shot out and gripped his so tightly that he almost yelped.  Her aqua eyes bored into his dark ones with intensity.  “You are  _ not _ going back to Hell.”

“But --”

She glared daggers at him. _  “No.  _  You’re too good for Hell, Lucifer.  I refuse to have anything happen to you that will send you back there.”

Lucifer felt a flush creeping up his neck and into his cheeks.  Her regard for his wellbeing filled him with a warmth that had nothing to do with his state of arousal.  It burst from his heart, permeated his bones, and spread throughout his body.  He fiddled with her hand, admiring her long, sensuous fingers.  “Detective... I....”  He looked up at her.  “No one’s ever....”

Her eyebrows raised.  “What?”

“No one’s ever....”  His voice petered out before he swallowed hard and said, “Well, cared.”

“I care.”  She pulled her hand from his and caressed his cheek.  “I care a lot.  Please, Lucifer.  I can’t have anything happen to you.  It will... hurt too much.”

He gaped at her.  “Detective....”

Leaning forward, she kissed him softly on the lips before pressing her forehead against his.  “Please.  Promise me that if I’m ever in danger, you’ll stay away.”

He felt the back of his eyes burn with the threat of tears.  Bloody hell, no one had ever cared before....  The need to do whatever she wanted to make her happy welled up inside him, but he tamped it down hard.  Although she unmanned him with her goodness, he was determined to not to promise.  He couldn’t afford to -- she had to stay protected.  Besides, he couldn’t stay away from her, even if he wanted to.  She was his life.

“I... I can’t,” he whispered.  “Please... please don’t ask that of me.”  He looked at her with all the love he had in his heart.  “Don’t send me away.”

Her eyes were filled with concern.  “But Lucifer....”

“Please.”  He cupped her face in his hands and caressed her cheeks with his thumbs.  She was so beautiful, so close -- he couldn’t think straight anymore.  What was he pleading for?  He only knew that she was here, and he wanted to kiss her so badly....  “Please....”

He started leaning toward her, unable to resist the temptation of her darkening aqua eyes, her cheeks tinted a charming pink, and her full, kissable lips.  He saw her lips part as he drew near, and a tender smile touched his face.  Oh, just a little closer, now....

“Mommy!  Is Lucifer up yet?”

Trixie’s yell from the other room had them breaking apart instantly.  As Lucifer threw himself back upon the headrest in frustration, Chloe glanced in the direction of the living room, then gave a rueful chuckle.

“Yeah, baby, he’s up!” she yelled back, then turned to Lucifer, her eyes full of regret.  “Sorry.”

He sighed.  “Not as sorry as I am....”

She grinned at him.  “You need to get dressed anyway.”

He glanced down at his bare chest.  “What?  Don’t you want to see my naked splendor?”

She chuckled and shook her head.  “Not with Trixie here.”

That had him grinning wickedly as he leaned toward her.  “Which means... if she wasn’t here, you might want to --”

“Gotta go!”  Chloe hurriedly dashed away, disappearing around the corner of the doorway.

“Wait -- Detective!”

But she was gone.  Sighing, he threw the covers off, revealing his silk boxers.  He didn’t even get to model them for her!  Disappointment flooded him.  Oh, well....

 

 

________________________________________

 

 

It was after they had finished eating breakfast -- which turned out to be chocolate cake for Trixie -- and were sitting in the living room, discussing what to do with their day, when Lucifer heard the soft ding of the elevator.  The sound of high heels clicking against the stone tile had him turning to see who it was.

_ Mum. _

“Look, Lucifer, you really need to come home with me --” Charlotte broke off as she took in the sight of Chloe and Trixie sitting on the couch with Lucifer.  “Oh.  Hello.”

The difference between the two women could not be more plain.  Charlotte was dressed to kill in a low-cut red dress with a white bolero jacket, while Chloe wore a comfortable flannel shirt and jeans.  Lucifer saw his mother scrutinize the detective before her mouth turned up into a smirk.

“Well, this is a surprise.  You don’t look like his type at all.”  The tall defense attorney shucked off her jacket and placed her hands on her hips as she modeled her cleavage.  “He likes his women... well endowed.  Sexy.  Not frumpy.”

The fallen angel immediately rose to his feet as fury burned through him.  “Stop it!  Bloody hell, what are you doing?!”  Then he realized that Chloe had also stood up, her eyes wide in a colorless face.

“Ch-Charlotte Richards,” she said, glancing at Lucifer, then back to the newcomer.  “You’re sleeping with  _ her? _  Defense attorney Charlotte Richards?”  Her face spasmed as if in pain, then she was moving quickly, gathering her things and calling to her little human.

For a moment he was stunned at her statement.  She... she thought he was sleeping with his mum?!

No!  No, no, nonono --

“Wait, Detective --”  He scrambled to reach her, but she pushed past him, her arms loaded with gear.

“It... it doesn’t matter to me who you sleep with.  I -- we have to go.  I didn’t realize you had... plans.”  She glanced down at her daughter, who looked confused.  “Do you have your things, monkey?”

“Yeah, Mommy, but --”

“Then let’s go.”  She walked quickly to the elevator with Trixie in tow, skirting around Charlotte and giving her a wide berth.  Frustration boiled up within Lucifer. This wasn’t supposed to be how things went!

“Detective!” he called after her, catching up with her just as she stepped into the elevator with Trixie.  “Please, wait!  I can explain --”

“No need,” she said, shaking her head.  It pained him to see her face so white and pinched.  She smiled at him, but the expression only made her look like she was going to throw up.  “I... I get it.  I’ll see you on Monday.”

“Wait --”

But the doors had already closed.

Lucifer whirled on his mother, fury etched in every line on his face.  Storming up to her, he snarled, “Bloody hell, Mum -- what was that?!”

Charlotte reached out and patted the lapel of his jacket.  “Now, now, Lucifer, is that any way to talk to your mother?”

He wrenched her hand away from him and threw it back at her.  “What do you want?”

Her mask dropped briefly, revealing her furious expression, before it slid back in place again -- polished, smooth.  Emotionless.  “I didn’t expect to see your human here.  I thought she hated you...?”

“Well, luckily she gave me a second chance.”  He headed to the bar and poured himself a Scotch.  Downing it quickly, he turned back to his mother as she approached.  “No thanks to you.”

Charlotte’s brows furrowed.  “But... but she knows you’re the Devil.  She doesn’t hate you?”

“No.”  He took a deep breath as his expression grew soft.  “She... she’s quite special, the Detective.”  Looking down, he poured himself another drink and smiled to himself as memories of the previous night before washed over him.  Charlotte’s harsh voice broke him out of his reverie.

“Well, it seems to me that she’s dumped you again -- look how fast she left the penthouse with her spawn.”

Scotch flew everywhere as the old-fashioned glass shattered in Lucifer’s grip.  Turning to his mother, he snapped, “And whose bloody fault was that?”

Charlotte sighed.  “Lucifer, Lucifer, Lucifer, when are you going to learn that humans are, by nature, fickle creatures?  Let her go.  Humans have terribly short lifespans -- fifty years goes by like a snap of our fingers.  When she dies, you’ll be alone.  You don’t want that, do you?”  She reached out and teased the hair at the back of his nape.  “Come home, son.  Come home with us.  Heaven is where you belong -- with your own kind.”

Batting her hand away, he took a step backward and glared at her.  “You know my answer to that, Mother.  I’m not going.  Earth is my home -- deal with it.”

Her eyes narrowed as she tossed her thick blonde mane over one shoulder.  “You should listen to your mother, Lucifer.”

He stood up straight and lifted his chin.  “Nay, I’m listening to myself on this one.  I know what I want... and Heaven isn’t it.”

Bowing her head slightly, Charlotte said, “Very well.  I accept your decision.”

Lucifer suddenly felt as if the world had shifted under his feet.  “You... you do?”

“Yes.”  She heaved a heavy sigh.  “You know your own mind.  We’ll miss you.”

He gaped at her.  He couldn’t believe it.  After all this fighting, she was finally going to listen to him?  “Th-thank you, Mother.”

“But remember,” she said over her shoulder as she sauntered away, “If you ever change your mind, I’ll be here in a heartbeat to get you.”

“Very well.”  He watched her leave the penthouse, then sat down heavily on the couch.  His head reeled.  What had just happened?  His mother was going to let him stay on Earth?  Then... he could be with Chloe, without fear of what Mum might do!  A slow smile lit his features.  That was the best news he had heard all day!  But --

Bloody hell... the detective thought he was sleeping with his mum!  He had to fix this!  Leaping to his feet, he ran for the elevator.

 

 

________________________________________

 

 

Charlotte Richards went directly to her office, mulling over what to do with her wayward son.  Obviously he wasn’t going to join her and Amenadiel when they went to Heaven without a little nudge in the right direction.  That meant dealing with the pesky human.

“Your brother is turning out to be more stubborn than expected, for the human woman has returned to him,” she told her eldest son after he arrived.  She handed him a cup of coffee.  “We need to do something to change the circumstances, or we’ll never get back home.”

The burly angel looked at his mother and frowned.  “But what, Mom?  He’s pretty set on staying as long as Chloe’s here on Earth.”

The tall, blonde woman turned to Amenadiel and shot him a predatory smile.  “Well, Chloe is the key, isn’t she?  The crux of the whole matter.  We’ll have to take care of her, if we’re ever going to get your brother to come home.”

He gaped at her.  “But... you heard Luci!  He’d never forgive us if something happened to her.”

Charlotte’s eyes were as cold as a shark’s.  “Don’t worry -- we’ll use her to our best advantage.”  A slow smile touched her lips.  “I’m sure we could arrange... something.”

“But he found out that you had a hand in Chloe’s kidnapping --”

She snorted.  It figured Amenadiel would deny that he had anything to do with their plans....  He was terribly weak in character.   _ “We _ had a hand in it, my dear.  But don’t worry, we’ll be more discreet this time.  I have a plan....”

The angel shifted uncomfortably in his chair.  “I don’t know if this is a good idea, Mom.  Lucifer can get pretty angry --”

She dismissed his objections with a wave of her hand.  “What can he do?  I’m his mother.  You’re his brother.  He wouldn’t dare raise a hand against us, no matter what he threatens.”  Her eyes narrowed.  “I refuse to leave him behind in this filthy human waste dump.  No.  He’s coming back with us if we have to drag him, kicking and screaming....”

 

 


	2. The Talk about Relationships

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A super-huge thank you to my wonderful beta, ScooterThyme! You rock!

 

 

“Where were you last night? You didn’t come home.”

Chloe glanced at Maze as she and Trixie entered the apartment.  Kicking the front door closed with her foot, she set her gear down on the floor and studied the bounty hunter who was standing before her.  It was difficult not to stare.  After all, she had just learned the night before that she was rooming with a demon!  It seemed fantastical, and yet it didn’t.  The woman was athletic, ninja-like in her abilities, vicious when she needed to be, and was able to catch criminals easily.  And yet this same woman was very good with Trixie.  Such a dichotomy!  Chloe shook her head as Trixie ran up to Maze and gave her a hug.

“Maze!” she squealed.  “You’re back from your hunt!  Did you catch the bad guy?”

The demon smiled down at Trixie.  “Yeah, little human.  Bagged him and turned him in.  Got myself a nice little bonus, too.”

“That’s so cool!”  The little girl jumped up and down in front of her.  “You’re awesome!”

“Damned right, I am.”  She grinned, then turned to Chloe.  “So where were you?”

Before she could answer, Trixie blurted out, “We went to Lucifer’s penthouse!  He was hurt but we made him dinner and then watched TV!  I fell asleep so we got to stay over and then this morning I got to eat chocolate cake and then some lady came in and we had to leave.”

Maze’s expression became razor sharp as she pinned Chloe with her gaze.  “Lucifer was hurt?”

“Yeah.”  The blonde detective turned to her daughter.  “Hey, monkey, why don’t you put your things away?”

“Okay!”  Trixie grabbed a backpack off the floor and took off running for her bedroom.

The demon’s eyes narrowed as she studied Chloe.  “So?  What happened?  How did Lucifer get hurt?”

A frisson of unease shot through Chloe, but she shrugged it off.  She sighed, remembering the events surrounding her kidnapping.  “It was my fault, really --”

Maze’s hand shot out with the speed of a striking snake and grabbed Chloe’s shirt.  Yanking her close, the demon hissed, “You hurt Lucifer?!”

“N-no --” Chloe gasped.

“Then what do you mean, it was your fault?!”

Luckily, the front door opened at that moment, revealing the object of their conversation standing at the entry.  With a curse, the fallen angel strode in and forced himself between them, detaching Maze’s hand from Chloe’s shirt.

“Bloody hell, what is the meaning of this?!” he roared, his eyes glittering with fire as he held the blonde detective protectively in his arms.

Chloe had to admit, she was more than glad for his unexpected intervention.  She wasn’t sure if Maze would have actually hurt her, but she hadn’t wanted to find out.  And the feel of his body pressed up next to hers made her feel safe... secure.  Swallowing hard, she smiled unevenly at the Devil.  “I’m okay.”  Her voice was unsteady -- his proximity was doing odd things to her insides -- so she cleared her throat and tried again.  “Maze was worried about you, that’s all.”

He glanced at her, his eyes still aglow like burning embers, before the fire faded, leaving him human in appearance once again.  “Are you all right, Detective?”

She gave a little nod, content to stay in his arms for just a little longer, even though she knew she shouldn’t -- not after what had happened.

He had never hidden the fact that he was a playboy -- he always had a beautiful woman or three hanging on his arm.  And even if he had written such beautiful stories about her, it wasn’t real.  Wasn’t hearing Charlotte Richards tell him to go home with her proof enough?  There was no doubt that Lucifer was quite open with his relationships, but Chloe wasn’t made that way.  She wanted something real, not a quick roll in the hay before he was off having sex with another woman.

“You... you aren’t scared of his eyes?” Maze asked, glancing from Lucifer to Chloe and back again.  “You know he’s...?”

“The Devil?  Yes.”  Chloe nodded.

The other woman took a step back, as if struck.  “What the hell did I miss yesterday?!”

“Well, actually, it was the day before,” Lucifer said.  “The detective was kidnapped.”

The demon looked stunned, then her expression grew furious.  “What?!  No one touches my roommate -- I’m the only one who gets to hurt Chloe!  Who did it?  I’ll slice him to ribbons!”

Chloe chuckled and gave her a reassuring smile.  “It’s okay, Maze, but thank you.”  She glanced up at the Devil beside her.  Although a part of her desperately wanted to stay in his arms a little longer, she resisted the urge.  “You can let me go now.”

His arms tightened around her briefly as if in protest before he released her.  “Detective, about this morning --”

She shook her head.  “Lucifer, I can’t talk about this now.”

He looked as if she had struck him, but she resisted the urge to gather him in her arms and give him a hug.  Why did he still have the power to affect her, when she knew he was seeing another woman?  It made no sense!  But at least she hadn’t told him she loved him -- thank goodness for that.  They could just go back to the way it was before... well, sort of.  She would never be the same again.

A bitter look passed over Lucifer’s features as he wiped the hurt from his face.  “Bloody hell, can’t you hear me out?  Is it because I’m the Devil?”

Turning cool eyes toward him, she shook her head.  “No, it has nothing to do with that.  It’s none of my business who you sleep with --”

“But I didn’t sleep with her!”

She stared hard into his eyes and saw the truth there.  Okay, so he hadn’t slept with Charlotte Richards -- which was a relief, actually, for there was something inside her that was repulsed by that woman, even before their encounter at Lucifer’s penthouse -- but that didn’t mean he hadn’t slept with others.  Or would stop doing so.

Turning to Maze, she asked, “Can we have a moment alone, please?”

The demon studied both of them, then nodded.  “Yeah, but you gotta fill me in later on this kidnapping business.  I’ll hunt that guy down and gut him like a fish.”  She wandered up the stairs, yelling, “Hey Trixie!  Let me tell you about my latest hunt....”

With a sigh, Chloe led Lucifer to the living room and sat down on the couch.  Expecting him to take the armchair, she was surprised when he sat down next to her.  He was so close that she could feel the heat of his thigh next to hers, but he didn’t touch her.  He folded his hands in his lap and looked at her with a worried expression.  A part of her wanted to hold his hand and comfort him, but instead she laced her fingers tightly together to keep them from doing anything stupid.

She opened her mouth to speak, but before she could, he said, “I didn’t sleep with her.”

Chloe nodded, then bit her lower lip.  “I believe you.”

The lines of tension on Lucifer’s face eased.  “Good.  Believe me, Detective, I’d never sleep with that woman.”

“But... but you’d sleep with others?”  She slanted a glance at him, wanting him to say no.  Needing him to say no.

He shifted in his seat as he ran his hand through his hair, before massaging the back of his neck.  He gave a short laugh.  “Well, I _have._  I _am_ the Devil, after all.”

Disappointment flooded her insides.  What had she expected to hear?  Flowery proclamations of one true love and that he’d never look at another woman again?  “I... I see.”

“Detective --”

“This was a mistake,” she blurted out.  “I... I should have known better.  Look, I wasn’t lying when I said that I’ll always be there for you, but....  I can’t be in a relationship with you.”

His mouth fell open, and his face lost all color.  “What?”  Then his expression hardened into harsh lines.  “Why not?  Because I’m the Devil?”

“What?!  No, of course not!”  Against her better judgment, Chloe reached over and squeezed his hand.    “Stop thinking that -- you know I don’t think of you as the Devil.”

Before she could pull away, he grabbed her fingers tightly, as if afraid she’d disappear like mist burning off in the hot morning sun.  “What else am I supposed to think?  You found out I’m the Devil, and now you want nothing to do with me.”  Although an expressionless mask had fallen over his face, his voice betrayed the hurt he felt.

“It’s not that at all.  It’s just that....”  She waved at his long frame seated next to her.  “Look, you’re... Lucifer Morningstar.”

He blinked in surprise.  “Well yes, that is who I am.”

Chloe shook her head. “That’s not what I meant.  I mean, look at you.  You’re rich.  Handsome --”

His face lit up.  “You think I’m handsome?”

She rolled her eyes.  “Yes.  Handsome, with tons of young, beautiful women at your beck and call.  I suspect you sleep with someone new every night --”

“I have sex with multiple partners almost every night.  I’m very good at fulfilling my lovers’ desires,” he said proudly, then saw her face.  His brow furrowed in confusion.  “Is that bad?”

She had the sudden urge to start laughing hysterically.  His statement just proved how very different they were.  “Charlotte Richards was right.  I’m not your type.”  As she pulled her hand out of his grip, she glanced down at her faded jeans and her worn flannel shirt.  “Look at me, Lucifer --”

“I’m looking.”  His voice, husky and full of desire, had her head whipping up to meet his gaze.  His dark eyes had grown impossibly darker, and were full of passion.  Hunger.  She swallowed and tried to stay on track.

“No, I mean, look at me.  Really look at me.”  She picked up the front corner of her shirt and fiddled with it.  “I’m not some young, statuesque model with ample cleavage.  Hell, I’m not even some raving beauty that men clamor over,” she said with a self-deprecating laugh.  “I’m a stressed out cop with a nine-year old daughter and a failed marriage behind me.  I’m in my thirties -- I’m not some nubile twenty-year old.”  Pasting on a smile that felt plasticky and painful, she turned back to him.  “I’m not your type.”

“You’re wrong, Detective,” he said as his face softened and his eyes sketched her features.  “Do you know what I see?  I see a hardworking, dedicated woman full of honor, courage... goodness.  I’ve never seen compassion such as yours.  You’re a good mother, always putting your little spawn first.  You’re so beautiful it’s like looking into the sun.  You’re dazzling... blinding.”

He leaned toward her, so close that they could share the same breath.  Chloe stared at him, as if mesmerized.  His eyes were full of sincerity, his expression open, honest....

“I see... perfection,” he whispered.  “You’re perfect.”

And then he kissed her -- not joining them in raging hunger and passion, but rather in tenderness.  The touch of his lips on hers was full of... reverence.  It unbalanced her, for she had never experienced such a profound kiss before, not even with Dan.  Her insides trembled from its beauty as her heart faltered for a moment, then started to sing like a bird in springtime.

The chaste kiss only lasted a second.  Oh, how she wanted it to last longer!  He pulled back a fraction, his eyes searching hers as his hand rose to caress her cheek.  She didn’t know what he saw, but his eyes darkened even more, and then his lips were once again on hers.

This time the kiss was harder, deeper, full of the hunger and desire she had seen on his face.  She rose to meet it, wanting him closer, wanting so much to be the woman that he saw, wanting the life she had glimpsed before Charlotte Richards had interrupted them....

But the thought of that polished woman brought her to her senses.  Pulling away, she struggled to get her breathing under control.  Lucifer leaned toward her, wanting another kiss, but she put a hand on his chest and held him off.

Shutting her eyes, she gave a slight shake of her head.  “I... I can’t.”

Confusion crossed his face.  “Why not?”

“You’re... a playboy.  You’ve slept with many women.  I’m... not like that.”  She took a deep breath.  “I don’t want an open relationship.”  Turning fully toward him, she stared hard into his eyes and said, “I don’t want to share.”

His cheeks grew ruddy as his eyes grew bright, and a tender smile touched his lips.  “Really?  Because, Detective, I don’t --”

She cut him off.  “No.  Don’t make promises you can’t keep.  Let’s just be... friends.”

Friends.  She hated the word, when she so desperately wanted to be in a relationship with him... but she had to keep her head.  If she went to see him one day and found him in bed with three women, it would destroy her.  Having been hurt badly when her first marriage ended up on the rocks, she had no intention of repeating the experience.

Lucifer blinked, then his face grew still.  He looked... shocked.  “Friends.”

Swallowing hard, she nodded.  “Friends.”

He pulled back as if repulsed, then shook his head.  “I don’t understand.  We’re already friends.”

“I know, but... we shouldn’t go any farther than friends.”

“Friends.”  He said the word like a curse, then looked at her with narrowed eyes.  “You kissed me back.”

Oh damn, she had hoped he wouldn’t remember that.  “Yeah, well, let’s just call it temporary insanity.”

He suddenly grinned as he reached over and took possession of her hand once again.  “I do believe there was passion in that kiss, Detective.”

 _Crap._  Blushing hard, she shook her head.  “Believe what you like.”  She tugged at the hand he held.  “Lucifer --”

The fallen angel looked at her with determined eyes full of promise.  “I’m not giving up.”

Chloe swallowed hard.  “I’m not changing my mind.”

His face suddenly broke into a sultry smile.  “I like challenges, Detective... and I play to win.”

“You better get used to losing, then,” she said.

“I won’t.”  His gaze was intense as he brought her hand up to his chest and pressed it against his heart.  “I can’t afford to.”

His words and action sent even more heat flooding into her cheeks, and the feel of his chest under her fingers was doing funny things to her insides....  Recalling his words, she blinked in surprise.  He couldn’t afford to?  What did that mean?  He was talking again -- she struggled to concentrate on what he was saying.

“Give me this weekend,” he said.  “Give me the weekend to show you how good it could be between us.”

Oh, how she wanted to, but self-preservation reared its ugly head.  She looked at him sadly.  “It won’t change anything.”

“But --”

“No, Lucifer.  Really, it’s not going to --”

“Please, Chloe.”

It was hearing her given name on his lips that did it.  Her shoulders slumped as she nodded.  “Okay.  I’ll give you the weekend... but it won’t make a difference --”

“It will,” he said, his face brightening.  “I promise you, Detective.  You’ll see.  We can make it work.  You’ll see.”

 

 


	3. Afternoon Encounter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A super-huge thank you to my excellent beta, ScooterThyme! You ROCK!

 

 

The day didn’t go exactly as Lucifer had planned.

First, he took Chloe and her little one to lunch at Curry House in Little Tokyo, since the child wanted to eat Japanese curry.  Well,  _ he _ didn’t take them -- his car wasn’t big enough, so Chloe had to drive -- but he did buy their meals.  The food was wonderful, but what occurred at the restaurant was not.

Every five minutes -- nay, more often than that, for the interruptions were nonstop -- some pesky human would caress his shoulders or drop a card in his lap as they passed by their table.  Some said, “Hey Lucifer,” in a sexy voice, while others merely said, “let’s have sex,” without any preamble.  The server, a wonderful woman with whom he had the pleasure of having sex a year ago, gave them good service, but not without first kissing him hungrily on the lips.

It had horrified Lucifer.

Oh, not the attention, but... he was trying so hard to show the detective how suitable he was to fit into her lifestyle, and this was not helping.  Chloe had merely looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

“Who are all these people who keep coming by our table?” Trixie had asked, confusion written all over her face.  “Are they your friends, Lucifer?”

He had said nothing.

The foray into the Japanese bookstore nearby had not gone any better.

The little one had wanted to buy some stickers or cute stationery or something, so Lucifer had happily followed the detective and her daughter a few doors down and went inside.  Unfortunately, he found himself waylaid by a number of people who kept pulling him down the aisles and into hidden corners of the store.  There, the humans would entwine themselves around him like a snake around its prey and kiss him voraciously.  For some reason, the image of a child grabbing a bauble kept flashing through his mind.  It was as if he was their toy, to be pulled out and played with whenever they felt like it... and for the first time in his very long life, the fallen angel found that he didn’t like it.

At first he had laughed a little nervously as Chloe looked on, watching everything silently.  Then, when it kept happening, he felt his face burn and a lump form in his throat that refused to go away, no matter how many times he swallowed.  This had never happened before.  True, from time to time he had the random human approaching him, but he had never been so thoroughly surrounded by sex-hungry people before.  He wondered if Dad had something to do with it.  Was he trying to tell him something?

“Detective,” Lucifer said as he finally extricated himself from the clutches of a man who had pulled him behind the bookshelves and fondled his wedding tackle.  “Detective, you must believe me, this isn’t at all how it seems --”

“No, it’s exactly how it seems.”  She lifted her chin as she walked down one of the aisles, looking for her daughter.  “At least you have the good grace not to do this in front of Trixie --”

“Detective, please --”  He dashed in front of her and stopped, hoping that she would stop as well.  Holding out his hands, he said, “Please, listen to me.”

Chloe crossed her arms in front of her chest, and tapped one foot.  “All right, what is it you want to say?”

Now that he had her attention, he was at a loss for words.  He struggled to express what he was feeling.  “Right.  This....”  He flung his hand out at the store.  “This is not normal.  Believe me, Detective, this has never happened before --”

“It happens every night at LUX,” Chloe said with a shake of her head as she tried to go around him.  He sidestepped in front of her, blocking her path.

“Surely you can’t blame me for this?” he asked with worry.  “It’s not my fault that humans find me attractive --”

Her mouth tightened as she lowered her arms, her hands balled into fists.  “You’re not helping your case --”

“But all they want is sex!”

She glared at him.  “And you give it to them.”

He could see she was getting angry, but he really couldn’t comprehend why.  He was the Devil, after all.  The sight of her narrowed eyes and flushed cheeks was terribly arousing, but he tried to stay on point.  “Well, yes, it’s what they desire --”

“So?”

He blinked at her.  “What?”

Squeezing her eyes shut, she took a deep breath.  “Why do you have to give them what they desire?”

Cocking his head, Lucifer furrowed his brow and tried to grasp where the conversation was headed.  “I’m the Devil, Detective.  I’m all about desire.”

“Yes, I get that.  But does it mean anything?”

Mean anything?  What did she mean?  “I... I don’t --”

She rolled her eyes.  “Is sex the only thing you want?”

He still didn’t understand and gave her a helpless, clueless look.  Sighing heavily, she rubbed her forehead.

“Is having meaningless sex all you want?  Lucifer, don’t you ever want a connection deeper than just sex?  Or is this --” she flung her hands out at the people in the bookstore, “-- all that you want?”

“What... I want?”

“Yes.”  Her eyes grew intense.  “What is it that  _ you _ desire?  What do  _ you _ want?”

Lucifer took a step backward, stunned.  What did  _ he _ want?  Since when had that mattered?  “No one... no one has ever asked me about what I’ve wanted, Detective.  No one’s ever cared.”  His face grew bitter.  “The one time I told someone -- Dad -- what I wanted, he threw me into Hell.”

Chloe’s expression softened.  Without warning, she wrapped her arms around him and gave him a big hug.  It caught him completely off-guard, for she had been standoffish since the morning.  He didn’t know what to do, so he stood frozen in her embrace, feeling like a fox caught in a snare.  A very pleasant snare, to be sure, but one that totally immobilized him.

“Lucifer,” she said softly, her voice sounding husky and sad.  “Your desires matter.  They matter very much.  You don’t need to sleep with humans just because they want you to.  You have the freedom to say no when you feel like it.”

“I can say no,” he said in an equally soft voice.

She glanced up at him.  “But when do you exercise it?  I mean, is this all you want?  Meaningless sex for the rest of your days?  Don’t you want something more?”

He stared deep into her aqua eyes and realized that he  _ did _ want something more.  He wanted someone who cared -- someone who came in the mornings just to hug him, who told him that what he wanted mattered.  He wanted someone who accepted him for what he was, who stood by him through thick and thin.  Someone who thought he was a good man.  He wanted Chloe Decker -- and not for sex.  Well, not  _ just _ for sex.  He realized that he wasn’t just in love with her, he  _ loved _ her -- truly loved her.  It was an epiphany.   “Detective --”

Just then another random human approached him -- a woman he had slept with a few months ago -- and stroked his shoulder.  “Hey, Lucifer, long time no see!  Why don’t we --”

Chloe whipped around to look at the woman, her teeth bared.  It had Lucifer gaping at her in shock.  “Back off, he’s  _ mine.” _

“Whoa!  Okay, no need to get nasty,” she said, raising her hands in a placating gesture.  She mouthed to Lucifer, “call me,” then wandered away.

Lucifer reeled from his partner’s show of possessiveness.  Strange how warm he became, how good it made him feel for someone to claim him for her own.  His heart thumped faster as heat climbed into his cheeks.

Chloe’s cheeks grew red as well, and her eyes slid away from his to look at the ground as she released him.  “Sorry,” she mumbled.

“Don’t be,” he said, his voice soft and full of tenderness.  “No one’s ever wanted me enough to fight for me.”

Surprised, her eyes flew to his, before her expression became pensive.  He wasn’t sure why that would make her sad, but apparently it did.  She hugged him again, and this time he wrapped his arms around her and returned her embrace.

“You’re a good man, Lucifer.  You’re worth much more than how you treat yourself.”  Breaking away, she edged her way around him and went off to look for her daughter, leaving him frozen in the aisle.

He loved her.  What he felt for her was so much more profound than he had initially thought, and he couldn’t comprehend it.  He had known that she was all that mattered to him, but he had never realized that she gave a thought to what  _ he _ wanted.  After all, no one ever had.  It sent a warmth shooting through his insides, filling his heart to bursting.  He wanted to fall to his knees and bawl like a baby that someone cared -- actually cared -- about him.

But of course he couldn’t do that -- he was the Devil, and had a reputation to maintain.  So instead he walked outside and stood on the landing in front of the store, fiddling with his lighter.  He couldn’t believe that the detective actually cared for him -- she had to, didn’t she?  No one had ever thought of him.  He was a pawn to his dad, and an object for sexual gratification to humans.  He was a tool to be used.  No one had ever wondered how he felt... except Chloe.

He had to somehow make her see that he was worthy of her.  This thing with the women -- and men -- had to stop.  She’d reject him -- hadn’t she tried, already? -- if he couldn’t make it clear that he didn’t want to be with anyone  _ but _ her.  Sure, he enjoyed the sex, but it was all empty.  It didn’t touch him in any way -- not like that kiss Chloe gave him when she saw him as the Devil, or the one they shared when he was trying to convince her of her worth.  Those experiences made his heart sing with joy.  He didn’t feel like that with anyone else -- only her.

Deciding to head back into the bookstore to find out how much longer they would be, he turned toward the entrance when he heard a funny popping noise.  He thought it was a firecracker at first, then realized that a chunk of the granite siding next to him had exploded into shards.  People started screaming and running every which way as another pop sounded and the glass door shattered.

Bloody hell -- someone was shooting?   _ Here? _

He glanced left and right as people fled and suddenly realized he was alone on the second floor balcony.  Another shot rang out, this time shattering the storefront window behind him.  Someone  _ was _ shooting -- at him!  Normally he wouldn’t have cared, but the detective was close by, which meant he was mortal.  He had no intention of going to Hell now that he had discovered the extent to which he loved Chloe!  He had to stay alive, if only to tell her he loved her!

Diving for the ground, he looked for cover and reviewed his options.  He could dive back into the store, but it seemed many of the shots were around the entrance, so he ran forward onto the terrace and took cover behind a concrete planter.  The shots seemed to have been coming from above -- probably someone on the third floor walkway.  Peeking up, he scanned the balconies, but saw nothing.

A noise behind him caught his attention.  Was it the assailant?  His heart almost leaped out of his chest as he turned, only to see Chloe staying low and running toward him, her gun drawn.  Fear shot through him -- she’d get herself killed!  But no other shots rang out.  He sagged in relief.

“What happened?” she asked as she reached him, scanning the area for the gunman, but all was quiet.  People slowly started appearing out of stores and from behind walls where they had taken cover.  Lucifer breathed a sigh of relief, now that the crisis was over.

He exchanged glances with Chloe.  “It seems, Detective, that someone is trying to kill me.”

 

 


	4. Talk of Staying, Leaving

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A very big thank you to my excellent beta, ScooterThyme! You make my work shine!

 

 

“...still can’t believe you rejected police protection.  Now think hard -- who would want to kill you?”

Lucifer rolled his eyes at his partner’s question as they walked into her apartment.  While the CSI team had gone over the shooting area with a fine tooth comb, Chloe had called Dan to pick up their daughter and take her home.  Then she had dragged Lucifer over to the station where he gave a bloody boring statement, and all anyone had asked while he was there was the same question -- who would want to kill him?

“Honestly, Detective, I don’t know.  Look, the shooting was probably gang-related -- not even about me!”

She eyed him with disbelief.  “Gang-related.  In Little Tokyo.  At Weller Court -- an outdoor mall located insanely close to the LAPD headquarters.  You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“It’s not unheard of!  No one has any reason to kill me.  I’m all about giving people what they desire -- well, most people.”  He grimaced as he closed the door behind them.  “Although I suppose I’ve made some enemies working with you --”

“But they’ve all been arrested,” Chloe said.

“Lucifer!”  Trixie came running up to him and attached herself around his waist as he yelped.  Bloody hell, it was like the spawn had Devil radar -- she always found him without fail.  The child looked up at him, her face filled with worry.  “Are you okay?”

“Well, of course, child.  Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Because someone was shooting at you --”

“Who’s taking potshots at you?” Maze asked as she sauntered up.  “What the hell is happening?  Chloe’s kidnapped, and now someone’s shooting at you?”

Lucifer turned to his demon.  “I assure you, it’s nothing to be concerned about --”

Chloe glared at him.  “Yes, it is.”

He glared right back.  “No, it isn’t.”

His partner flung up her hands as she pushed past him.  “Why aren’t you taking this seriously?”

“Because I’m immortal!”

“You’re immortal?” Trixie asked, her eyes wide, then broke out into a toothy grin as she released him.  “Really?  Like Superman?”

Lucifer rolled his eyes.  “That’s invulnerable -- a little different, child.”

The little girl started jumping up and down.  “But you’re like a superhero, right?  So are you going to wear a costume and go flying around while you fight bad guys with Mommy?”

Lucifer frowned at her, then glared up at Chloe.  “What have you been letting the child read?!  I’m not some comic book figure wearing bloody spandex!”

“Don’t change the subject,” she replied with a hard stare.

Sighing, the fallen angel bent down to look Trixie in the eye.  “I’m immortal, which means I can live forever,” Lucifer said, before casting a glance at Chloe.  “Well, as long as the detective isn’t around.”

Chloe whirled around at Lucifer, her hands on her hips.  “And what is  _ that  _ supposed to mean?”

“You make him mortal,” Maze said.  “So if you’re around and he gets hurt, he could die and wind up back in Hell.”

_ “Maze!”  _  Lucifer shot an angry look at her.  “That’s not for you to --”

“Someone has to tell her!” the demon yelled back.

Trixie’s face twisted with worry.  “Why are you all yelling?”

Chloe bent down in front of her daughter and gave her a tight smile.  “Baby, we’re just concerned over Lucifer.  Why don’t you go with Maze and play on the computer while I have a talk with him?”

Maze rolled her eyes.  “Oh sure, send me off with the kid.  What am I, the babysitter?”  But she took Trixie by the hand and smiled down at the little girl.  “Come on, little human.  I know of a website filled with stories about your mom and Lucifer....”

The blonde detective covered her eyes.  “Oh, god....”

“Dad doesn’t have anything to do with it,” Lucifer grumbled.  Chloe shot him a furious look that aroused him to his bones, before grabbing his hand and dragging him to the living room.  “Oooh, Detective, are we going to have a little sex play?”

When she pushed him onto the couch, he actually thought that she had taken him seriously, but disappointment filled him when she sat in the nearby armchair.  He sighed.  So much for sex....

Leaning forward with her elbows planted on her thighs, she looked him right in the eye.  “Talk to me.”

Bloody hell, he’d never forgive Maze for putting him in this situation!  He took a deep breath, bracing himself for the confrontation ahead.  “For some unfathomable reason, you make me vulnerable, Detective.”

She winced.  “You mean I make you mortal.”  Leaning against the backrest of the armchair, she ran a restless hand through her hair.  “Is it just me, or does anyone else make you mortal?”

Lucifer bit his lower lip.  “Just you, apparently.”

“Just me.  Great.”  Her expression grew pained.  “That’s just great.  And what is it about me that makes you mortal?”

“I... I don’t know.”

“Is it because you... care?” she asked, her face worried.

He shook his head.  “I don’t know, but I don’t think so.  You were different from the moment we met.  It must be something else.”

“I suppose.”  Chloe ran her hand over her face and sighed.  “Why didn’t you tell me?”

He shrugged.  “It didn’t matter to me.”

“Didn’t matter?!”  She sat up at that.  “What the hell do you mean, it didn’t matter?”

He studied her, appreciating her aqua eyes snapping with fury, her set mouth, and her body primed for battle.  She was glorious!  “Just what I meant, Detective.  I don’t care that I’m mortal around you.  The benefits far outweigh the drawbacks, believe me.”  Leering at her, he attempted to lighten the mood.  “The benefits would be even greater if you slept with me.”

She didn’t laugh -- she just glared at him, her eyes hard and full of anger.  Then, gradually, her expression softened, and sorrow replaced her fury.  “Well, that clinches it,” she said finally.  “We can’t see each other anymore.”

The fallen angel was appalled.   _ “What?!”   _ Sitting up straight, he gaped at her.  “You can’t be serious.”

She looked him dead in the eye.  “I am.”

He felt the blood drain from his face.  No.  He was dreaming....  This couldn’t be happening.  Flinging up his hands in frustration, he said,  _ “This _ is why I didn’t tell you!  I knew this would happen!”

“Lucifer, you could die around me --”  She broke off as horror crossed her features.  “Oh god, you  _ did _ die --”

“No, Dad didn’t, but yes, I did.”  Taking a deep breath, he tried to calm down.  He had to convince her to let him stay with her.  “Right.  It all worked out, didn’t it?  Dad did bring me back....”

“But you went to Hell.”

He bowed his head.  “Yes.”

Chloe covered her eyes.  For a split second, Lucifer thought she was weeping, but when she pulled her hand away, her eyes were dry -- haunted, sorrowful, filled with loss and determination... but dry.  Scooting to the edge of her seat, she leaned over and touched his hand.

“We need to stop seeing each other.”

As his heart kicked into overdrive, dizziness and nausea washed over him, twisting his stomach into knots.  He couldn’t let her do this.  No.  His hand clutched her fingers.  “No.”

“Yes.”  When she tried to pull her hand away, he refused to let go for a brief second before he released her.  She sighed.  “Lucifer, please.  Don’t make this more difficult than it already is.”

“No.”  He shook his head as his mouth went dry and pain lanced his chest.  “No.  I’m not letting you go.”

“Lucifer --”

_ “No.” _

“You could die around me, and I refuse to have that happen!  You are not going back to Hell --”

“I’ll be in Hell if you send me away!” he yelled.  Struggling to get his emotions under control, he bit the inside of his cheek until it bled.  With a deep breath, he squeezed his eyes shut and started again as calmly as he could.  “Please.  Don’t do this, Detective.”

When he opened his eyes, he saw her grimacing, as if in pain.  “I have to, don’t you see?  If you die, it will be my fault!  I can’t live with that!”

He couldn’t stand seeing her distress.  Recapturing her hand, he tugged gently on it, pulling her out of the armchair and onto the couch beside him.  Before she could move away, he drew her close and kissed her temple.

“Don’t worry,” he whispered as he gave her a reassuring smile.  “It will be fine.  I’m immortal, love.  I’ll be fine.”  He smiled crookedly.  “Besides, if I end up in Hell, I’m sure I’ll find a way to pop right back up, like a bad penny.  You’ll never be rid of me, Detective.”

She didn’t laugh.  Instead, she shook her head as she burrowed her head against his shoulder.  “And what if you don’t?  You’d be in Hell because of me.”  She looked up at him, her eyes full of pain and suffering.  “I’m a cop, Lucifer.  I can’t be responsible for sending you to Hell -- not when you’re such a good man.  I can’t --”

“Shhhhh....  My tenderhearted detective,” he said as he tightened his arms around her.  “Always thinking of others.  Do you know that you’re the first person who’s cared for me?  I have a multitude of brothers and sisters, and of course there’s Mum and Dad, but you’re the only one who’s ever really cared.”  His gaze grew far away as he remembered.  “No one gave a damn when Dad kicked me out of Heaven and threw me into Hell.  Everyone just stood by and watched it happen.  And yet here you are, so worried about my ending up in Hell that you’re sending me away for my own good -- even though you know I’m the Devil.”

She glared at him and thumped his chest with her fist.  “How many times do I have to tell you that I don’t think you’re the Devil?”

He chuckled.  “I know, my dear.  I know.  But it is the truth.  I  _ am _ the Devil.”

“No, you’re not.”  she wrapped her arms around his waist and squeezed.  “You’re not.”

Rubbing his cheek against her hair, he smiled at her stubbornness.  “Right.  You asked me at the bookstore what I wanted.  I want to stay with you.”

“But --”

He kissed her hair.  “Doesn’t it matter what I want?”

Her mouth dropped open.  “Of course it does!  But --”

Lucifer sighed.  “Detective, for the longest time I gave everyone whatever they desired.  Sex.  Money.  Power.  Knowledge.  Everything.  No one ever cared --” he swallowed hard, “-- cared about me to ask about my wants.  My needs.  For the first time since Dad threw me into Hell, someone asked me what _ I _ wanted.   _ You. _  You cared enough to ask.  You don’t know what that means to me.”

Although she stayed silent, Chloe’s grip tightened around him.

“Right.  Let’s say we stay together and then a week later -- bam.  I get killed and end up in Hell.  At least I’d have the memory of the week we spent together to last me throughout all of eternity.  If you send me away now, I’ll be here on Earth, but I’ll have nothing.”  He traced intricate patterns on her flannel shirt.  “I’d rather have a week’s worth of memories with you than a lifetime of nothing.”

He kissed her hair once again.  “Give me what I want.  Let me stay.”

For a long moment she was still, before he finally felt her give a tiny nod of her head.

Relief flooded him, making him giddy.  He hadn’t realized how much he needed her to agree.  “Come on, love, let’s get a little more comfortable, shall we?”  Shifting suddenly, he rearranged them so that they lay on the couch, with her sprawled on top of him.

Curling up close, she pressed her cheek against him.  “Tell me about Hell.”

His eyebrows shot upward.  It was the last thing he had expected her to ask.  “You mean, who’s there?”

“No.  Tell me what it’s like.”

He thought for a moment.  “Hot.  Dry.  The air is a bit stifling, much like the weather here in the summer.  When you inhale it burns your lungs.  There’s ash everywhere -- it coats everything.  Sometimes the flakes are big like snow.  Other times, they’re tiny, like stardust.  Usually the air is quite still, but once in a while a Hellstorm will come by, with roaring winds as strong as a tornado.  It kicks up sand and ash everywhere, and everything becomes so dark you can’t even see the hand in front of your face.  It doesn’t help that your eyes always sting because the heat dries all the moisture from them.  And the air.... it smells like smoke all the time.”  He chuckled.  “There isn’t anything pleasant about Hell.”

He felt something dampen his shirt.  When he looked down, he was surprised to see tears rolling down Chloe’s face and soaking into the silk material.  “Detective?”

“I don’t want you to go back there.”

His face grew soft and tender as he studied her.  She was the only one who had ever cried for him -- another first.  “I know.”

They stayed entwined on the couch for a very long time, content to just lie in each other’s arms. 

 

 


	5. Green-Eyed Monster

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A super-huge thank you to my excellent beta, ScooterThyme! You rock!

 

 

“Son of a --”

Maze’s exclamation had Chloe and Lucifer both jumping off the couch and to their feet.  The demon came rushing into the living room holding a tablet, with a giggling Trixie trailing behind.

Chloe quickly wiped the tears from her eyes.  She had been crying on Lucifer for the last hour, and she had to stop.  He had been so kind and gentle, merely holding her and giving her sweet kisses on her forehead to make her stop, but she hadn’t been able to.  The thought that he might end up in Hell again broke her heart.  He was such a good man -- it was far too harsh of a sentence for him.  How could his father do such a thing to him?

Luckily, neither Maze nor Trixie seemed to notice her watery, red eyes.  The demon shoved the tablet under her nose and said, “Look at this!”

“Mommy is dating Amenadiel!” the little girl chirped.

“Really, Chloe, I had no idea you had that kind of smut in your head.”  The demon smirked at her.

“What are you talking about?”  Lucifer snatched the tablet out of the blonde detective’s hands and scanned the screen quickly.  “Bloody hell!”

He looked furious enough to throw the device across the room, so Chloe quickly grabbed it back.  Curious to see what exactly had upset everyone, she studied the tablet.  An Archive of Our Own story had been pulled up, called, “One True Love,” written by ImChloeD.

ImChloeD?  What the hell?  It certainly wasn’t her, although Maze and Lucifer seemed to think otherwise.  The demon looked ready to tear her in half, and Lucifer was looking at her with shock and suspicion.

She started to read.  The story began with the detective tearing into Lucifer, telling him how selfish he was, and how much she hated him.  Then she ran off to meet Lucifer’s brother in a coffee shop, and from there....  From there it became extremely lurid -- actually worse than PrinceLuci666’s writings, which had been erotic on the verge of pornographic.  Squeezing her eyes shut, Chloe handed the tablet back to Lucifer.

“That’s not me,” she said, her voice shaking with shock and rage.  “Please don’t tell me you read this to Trixie --”

Maze shook her head.  “I was tempted to, because it would be a good education for her.  But come on, Chloe -- Amenadiel?  I mean, Amenadiel is _my_ \--”  She broke off and tossed her head.  “I mean... never mind.  I just can’t believe you’d write that.”

“I didn’t --”

“Are you sure, Detective?  Because the description of Amenadiel seems spot on.  This was written by someone who knows he’s my brother.”  Leaning over, Lucifer pointed to the screen in her hands.  “ImChloeD.  Now who else would write that but you?”

Fury burned in her at the accusation.  “That is not me!  My pseudonym is RekcedC!  I don’t write this sort of -- this --”  She tossed the offending tablet onto the couch.  He merely lifted an eyebrow at her, which inflamed her even more.

Trixie looked from her mother to the Devil and frowned.  “Why are you yelling at each other?  I thought you liked each other...?”

Chloe paused and turned to her daughter.  Kneeling down, she tried to compose her face into a tranquil expression.  “Lucifer and I are just having a little tiny argument, monkey.  Nothing serious --”

“I’d say it’s serious, if you’re writing about running off with that wanker!” Lucifer muttered while Maze snickered.

“Ohhhh, somebody is jealous.”  The demon’s chuckles turned into guffaws.  “I’d never thought I’d see the day when the Lord of Hell is jealous of his own brother!”

The urge to slap Maze upside the head was great, but Chloe knew the demon would throw her out the window if she did that.  She settled for a hard glare.  “You are not helping.”

“Yes, Maze, you are not helping,” added Lucifer with a meaningful glance.  “The detective and I need to discuss this.  Can you escort the little one elsewhere?”

“And miss this?  You gotta be kidding.  I wouldn’t miss this for the world.”  Grinning, the demon folded her arms in front of her chest and perched on the arm of the couch, which earned her a dark look from the Devil.

“Will you excuse us for a moment, Detective?” Lucifer said as he grabbed Maze and dragged her off into the kitchen.  Chloe could hear furious whispers coming from that direction, but she ignored them.  Instead, she turned to Trixie.

“Hey, Trixie, why don’t you go play in your room for a bit?  Lucifer and I have some things we need to discuss.”

The little girl’s face scrunched up.  “Are you going to fight?”

Chloe winced.  “Well, not really fight....  Just clear up a misunderstanding.”

Trixie’s face brightened.  “Oh, you mean all that stuff about dating Amenadiel?”

“That’s right, baby.  Lucifer seems to think I like his brother.”

“That’s just silly.”  The little girl giggled.  “Everyone knows you love Lucifer!”

As Chloe stared at her, agog, Trixie took off running to her room with a huge grin on her face.  Chloe watched her go as dizziness assailed her.  Was she so transparent that even her nine-year old daughter could see she was in love with Lucifer?  And did that mean Lucifer could see it, as well?  Her face burned at the thought, and she pressed her fingers to her cheeks.

“Privacy at last,” the fallen angel announced as he approached her, while Maze stormed upstairs to her own bedroom.

Chloe felt her heart flutter like a trapped bird in a cage.  Oh dear god, could he see how much she loved him?  Even more heat rushed into her face, all the way to the tips of her ears as she swallowed hard and ran her hands down her jeans.  Taking deep breaths, she tried to regain her composure.  She could do this.  Chances were that he suspected nothing.  Everything would be fine... just fine.

“Are you all right?”  As he neared her, he squinted at her face and his brows furrowed with concern.  “Why do you look like that?”

Her voice came out as a squeak.  “Like what?”

“You’re red.  Why?”  His eyes widened and he looked horrified.  “Were you thinking up more escapades with my brother?!”

“What?!  No!”

He looked slightly mollified by her exclamation.  “Well, that’s good, because we have to discuss this.”  Swiping the tablet from the couch, he waved it at her.

Chloe breathed a sigh of relief.  Lucifer seemed completely oblivious.

“Why would you write something like this?”  Although he looked angry, Chloe could hear the hurt in his voice.  “I can’t believe you would --”

She shook her head vigorously.  “I didn’t.  Believe me, I didn’t.”

“But you _are_ attracted to him,” the fallen angel suddenly said, his eyes narrowed as he set the device on the coffee table.  “I remember when you first met him.  You were completely bowled over by his sickening, goody-goody charm --”

Chloe’s mouth fell open.  “I was not!”

“You were!  You said he got all the charm in the family -- or some such drivel, and you wouldn’t even look at me!”

She rolled her eyes and flung her hands up.  “You can’t possibly be serious!”

“I _am_ serious!  Bloody hell, I haven’t forgotten that look on your face!”

“What look?”

Lucifer waved his arms furiously.  “That... that... that look!”

Chloe had no idea what he was talking about. _“What look?!”_

“The one... the one....”  His voice dropped down to a dejected whisper.  “The one that humans usually give me.  You looked like you wanted to have sex with him.”  He glanced up at her with heartbreak in his eyes.  “Did you?”

At the look on his face, all her frustrations dissipated.  Walking right up to Lucifer, she wrapped her arms around him and gave him a big hug.  “No,” she said.  “No, I did not.  I don’t care for your brother.  I hate the way he’s treated you, and I want to punch him in the eye.”

He didn’t move, just stood frozen in her embrace and averted his gaze, avoiding her eyes.  Sighing, she reached up and gently turned his face back to her.  Studying his downtrodden expression, she asked, “What is it?”

He shook his head.

“Come on,” she encouraged.  “Tell me.  What is it?”

“Why....”  He stopped for a moment and took a deep breath.  His eyes were full of pain as he asked, “Why don’t you look at me like that?”

She blinked.  “Like....”

“Like you want to have sex with me.”  He looked down, then peeked at her through his lashes.  “Am I not as good as my brother?”

At any other time, she would have rolled her eyes, thrown up her hands and said, “Oh, my god!”  But she did none of those things. She could see how insecure he was, how he thought she wasn’t interested in him physically, which wasn’t the case at all.  No, this was something she had to fix.

“Come with me.”  She grabbed his hand and led him down the hall to the powder room.

“D-Detective, I don’t feel the need to use the facilities --”

She flipped on the light and led him inside.  “Come on.”

His eyebrows climbed his forehead and he gave her a shadow of his old leer.  “Ooh, are we trying something kinky?”

Ignoring his words, Chloe turned him to face the mirror.  “Tell me what you see.”

He glanced at his reflection, then stared at hers.  “I... I don’t understand.”

“Tell me what you see.”

“I see... you and me.”  He half-turned to her, his eyes puzzled.  “I don’t see....”

“What do you see when you look at your reflection?” she pushed.  “Tell me.”

Lucifer turned back to the mirror and stared hard.  “I see... I see....”  His shoulders slumped and his gaze dropped to the sink.  “I see the Devil.”

Chloe sighed -- she had suspected as much.  “Do you know what I see?”  Catching his eye in the mirror, she smiled at him.  “I see a handsome man.  Eyes the color of dark amber, a strong jaw, and a fine, aquiline nose.  Beautiful hair, sexy stubble.  Tall, well-built -- but not overly so.  Perfect physique.   _Very_ handsome.”  He straightened at that and lifted his chin, a satisfied grin on his face.  Nodding, she continued,  “He could have any woman he wants.  All he has to do is snap his fingers and they come running.”

Lucifer preened at his reflection.  “Right.  I suppose you could say that.”  Then he glanced at her and a pained expression crossed his face.  “Except you....”

“Shhh, I’m not done,” she said, pressing her index finger to his lips.  Pointing to the mirror, she drew his attention back to it.  “Yes, this man is extremely handsome -- but there’s so much more to him than that.  This is also a man who is sensitive, although he doesn’t like anyone to see it.  He can write stories that make the heavens weep.  He’s a man who is kind... compassionate.  A man with honor and an innate sense of justice.  He would sacrifice everything he has -- everything he is -- to save a woman in trouble.”

“Not just any woman -- you,” he corrected, but she shook her head and pointed to the mirror once again.

“If I was anyone else, I’d have sex with him, and be happy with just his outer shell.  But I know who and what he is, and I’m not content with a quick roll in the hay.  I want the best part of him -- I want his goodness, his grace.  Everything that makes him Lucifer Morningstar.”  She turned him to face her, and brought up her trembling hand to stroke his cheek.  “I want all of you, Lucifer.  You deserve better than just a shallow, meaningless affair.  Do you understand?  You mean far more to me than your brother ever could.”

He stared at her, his face full of disbelief and wonder.  “Detective....”

“So don’t ever compare yourself to your brother and find yourself wanting.  Sure, maybe I didn’t jump in the sack with you at the drop of a hat, but I’d like to believe that what we have now is much more meaningful than that.”

Lucifer looked... poleaxed.  Perhaps he didn’t understand what she was trying to say...?  Maybe she had been too heavy-handed.  Stupid....  She should have hugged him and told him his brother was an ass.  Or just slept with him.  Maybe that would have had better results.

But she didn’t want to just sleep with him.  She wanted more than that, like she had told him.  And besides, there was still the question of whether she was a passing phase to him.  Would he be sleeping with someone new in a few days?  A week?  If she slept with him, it would be for keeps for her-- she had no intention of getting into a casual relationship.  No, she had to be sure of him before she slept with him, or risk getting her heart broken into a million pieces.

She sighed.  “Well, just... just think about what I said.”  When he still said nothing, she shook her head sadly and turned toward the powder room door.

Without warning she suddenly found herself yanked backward, until she was hard up against him as he embraced her tightly from behind.  He buried his face in her neck and just held her.  Shudders racked his body -- she could feel them against her -- and a dampness touched the base of her neck.  He was... crying?

“L-Lucifer?”

He said nothing, only shook his head against her neck and held on like there was no tomorrow.  Smiling tenderly, she leaned up against him and let him hold her until the storm passed.

 

 

________________________________________

 

 

“Are you okay now?” Chloe asked him later.

Lucifer hadn’t said a word since his emotional outburst in the powder room.  After he had calmed down, she had taken his hand gently in hers and led him to the living room.  Once there, he just sat beside her on the couch, his head resting on her shoulder and his hand entwined in hers.

Picking up the tablet, she went to the AO3 Lucifer fandom page and started scrolling through the stories.

“You do have a lot of fans, don’t you?” she asked.  “Or... I guess _we_ do.”  She squinted at the screen.  “Oh, here’s one that sounds kind of promising.  ‘Lucifer and his detective go on their first weekend away.’  Let’s see what that one says.”

Chloe glanced at Lucifer, but he didn’t even lift his head.  Had she broken him?  She hoped not.  A zombie for a partner and boyfriend was not what she wanted.  Sighing, she started to read the story.  “Well, this seems to be somewhat romant-- whoa, whoa, whoa!”

That got a rise out of the Devil.  He lifted his head and looked at her. “What is it?”

Her face felt like it was on fire.  “Nothing!” she squeaked, then cleared her throat.  “Nothing.”

He reached for the tablet but she held it away.  Cocking his head at her, he asked, “What does it say, Detective?”

“Nothing....”

“It’s not nothing if you won’t let me see --”  He reached around her for the tablet.  Placing a hand on his chest, she pushed him back.

“No, it’s not good --”

“Come on, Detective....”  He leaned toward her, smiling just a bit.  Oh, how she wished she could resist him!

She fidgeted with the tablet.  “Okay, okay.  Just... well....  It’s just....”

He studied her with a flash of his old self.  “Well, it must be something good, if you’re blushing.”

“The story says we... we go on our first weekend away, and then we....”  She swallowed hard.

Lucifer’s smile grew broader.  “Yes?”

“We... we have sex.”

He blinked, then broke out into a blinding grin.  “Is that all?”

“In a restaurant, in front of all the dinner patrons.  Naked.”

“I don’t see what’s wrong with that.”  His face filled with the old, familiar lust she was used to seeing.  “A little exhibitionism isn’t bad, at times.  And letting you see my naked body in front of others -- why, it would be like... performance art!”

Chloe couldn’t help but gape at him as shock -- and, she had to admit, arousal -- shot through her.  “Are you serious?  Lucifer, no.  No, no, no.  You can’t possibly want to do what’s written in this story.”

“Why not?”  He shifted next to her and started blowing in her ear.  “If it’s what you desire --”

Blushing furiously, she twisted her head away as she struggled to tamp down the desire he was stirring up in her.  “Because it’s weird.”

He sat up at that, his brows furrowed.  “Weird?”

She nodded as she set the tablet on the table.  “Well... you... uh....”

“What?”

“Well, you... uh... have me lay out on the table like a corpse and all the restaurant people eat sashimi off of my naked body.  The story says it’s called... uh...nyo... nyo....”

“Nyotaimori,” Lucifer supplied helpfully.

“Yeah.  You... you aren’t into that kind of thing, are you?” she asked as she leaned away from him, fearing the worst.  “Because I don’t want to do that, Lucifer --”

“As much as I’d love to see you naked, Detective, that scenario isn’t something that particularly appeals to me.”  His eyes burned with desire as he said, “I don’t want anyone eating food off of you except me.  And believe me, there won’t be anything corpse-like about you when we have a go at it.”  Then he smiled.  “Besides, that’s a perfectly good waste of sashimi, and good sashimi is hard to come by.”

She laughed with relief as heat flooded her cheeks at his possessiveness.  “Oh good, I’m glad....”

He waggled his eyebrows at her.  “You would be more glad if we actually had a private little session of nyotaimori, just the two of us --”

“Absolutely not.”  Chuckling, she picked up the tablet once again and pulled up his story, “Longing for Love.”  “I like the comments for your story,” she said with a smile.  She scrolled down to the end of it.  “Not the story itself -- I don’t like seeing Amenadiel beat you up -- but all your readers jumped to your defense.”

“As did you,” Lucifer said, his face softening as he gazed at her.  Chloe’s breath caught as she saw the expression on his face -- it certainly looked like love.  Passion swept through her once again, setting her insides ablaze as her heart thumped in overdrive.

For a long moment they just stared at each other, desire like a live thing tying them together, before she broke the spell and looked at the story.  Didn’t she just lecture herself about sleeping with him?  She was _not_ going there.  No, no, no.  Clearing her throat, she scrolled through the comments.

“Oh, look!  Shipperstar says she’s in LA and wants to meet!”  Turning to the fallen angel, Chloe gave him a big smile.  “Can we meet her, Lucifer?  She seems nice....”

He gave her an indulgent look as he leaned back.  “Of course, my dear.  Whatever you desire.”

She started typing on the device.  “Oh, great.  I’ll see if we can exchange contact information.”

As she worked on the tablet, she was vaguely aware of Lucifer rising to his feet and wandering to the dining room window.  Glancing up, she saw him staring out at the darkening world, looking thoughtful.

When he suddenly straightened, his attention caught by something outside, she asked, “What is it?”

“There... there’s a blonde man in the parking lot.  I think... I believe he just saluted me and -- _bloody hell!”_

Lucifer dove to the floor as several shots rang out, shattering the window and spraying him with shards of glass.

 

 


	6. Tit for Tat

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A super-huge thank you to my beta, ScooterThyme! You make my work shine!

 

 

Glass flew everywhere as the world exploded with the sound of gunshots.

Lucifer shook the shards off as he got to his hands and knees, staying low as he worked his way back to the window.  He heard Chloe order him to stay down, but he wanted to see the wanker who had shot at him.  When he had looked outside a few seconds ago, he had spotted the man standing in the parking lot.  Even with the distance between them, he could see the burly blonde man smile... then give a jaunty salute before whipping up the assault rifle from his side and spraying the window with bullets.

And yet... there had been a hesitation there, as if giving Lucifer the chance to duck before he had shot.  Or had that been an illusion, with adrenaline slowing time down, as it did sometimes?  The fallen angel wasn’t sure.  He only knew that he wouldn’t forget that face.

In the sudden quiet that ensued, Maze leaped down the stairs and ran to them.  “What the hell happened?”

“Gunman -- parking lot,” Lucifer said as he pointed out the window.  Maze jumped through the broken pane to the parking lot one floor below just as the sound of a car peeling away ripped through the silence.

“Trixie!”  Chloe yelled out.  “Trixie, baby, you okay?”

The little girl’s bedroom door opened a crack.  “Mommy?” came her wobbly voice.

“Stay there, monkey -- stay there and stay down!”  Chloe quickly made her way to Lucifer.  “Are you okay?”

He nodded, and gave her a cocky smile.  “Not a scratch.  The bloody sod isn’t a very good shot, is he?”

She didn’t laugh.  She ran to the side of the window and carefully peeked out just as Maze returned through the front door.

“He’s gone,” the demon said.  “All I saw was him taking off in a white mustang.”

“I’ll get a BOLO on the car.”  Chloe whipped out her phone and started dialing.

Lucifer frowned.  “Right.  No luck tracking him, then?”

Maze shook her head.  “I’ll see what I can dig up, but I didn’t get a look at the guy.  Just a car description isn’t much to go on.”  With narrowed eyes, she asked, “Who’d you piss off?”

“I don’t know.”  He recalled the shooter in his mind’s eye.  “I’ve never seen the fellow before in my life.”

 

 

________________________________________

 

 

The police came and went.  Once again, Lucifer had to go back to the station to give a statement, as well as a description of the man to the police sketch artist.  Chloe went with him, while a frightened Trixie stayed at the apartment with Maze.  The little girl had wrapped herself around Lucifer’s waist and hadn’t wanted to let go.  It had taken both her mother and the demon cajoling her to get her to finally release him when the police came.

When they finally got home from the precinct, it was late.  Lucifer looked up from the parking lot to Chloe’s apartment, and was glad to see that someone -- probably Maze -- had gotten plywood to cover the broken window.  Not that they had to worry about break-ins with a demon in residence, but still....

Chloe sighed as she followed his gaze to the boarded up pane.  “You could have died.”

“But I didn’t,” he said with a grin.

She shot him an angry look as she started guiding him to his Corvette.  “And you’re not going to.  You’re going home.”

Lucifer’s stomach dropped to his feet.  She... she was sending him away?  “What?  B-but --”

Turning to face him, she gripped his arm hard.  “Look, it’s just until we catch this guy.  You have to stay safe.  And since you keep refusing police protection --”

“It would hinder my jam!”

She rolled his eyes at him.  “Your life is more important than your jam!”

He gave her his best sultry look.  “Not if we’re doing the horizontal tango between the sheets --”

Chloe gave a strangled cry.  “Lucifer, stop it!  I’m serious!”

“So am I --”

She slapped him -- hard.

“Bloody hell, Detective!” he cried as he rubbed his stinging cheek.  He did so like her fire!  He just wished she would slap him during sex -- if they ever  _ had _ sex -- and not at random times, like now.

Her eyes were full of concern.  “You’re mortal around me.  If you’re away from me, you can’t be harmed.  If he tries again, you will be okay.”

Lucifer straightened and looked down his intimidating nose at her.  “I’m not letting that tosser dictate what I can and cannot do.  I’m not leaving.”

“Lucifer, be reasonable!”  She flung her arm out at the parking lot around him.  “He could be anywhere, and could strike at any time.  We have our best people on it, but you have to protect yourself.”

He sighed.  Didn’t she understand that he couldn’t bear to be away from her?  That his life meant nothing if it didn’t have her in it?  Even though he didn’t fully understand this strange magnetic pull he felt toward her whenever she was around, he knew that being with her made his life worth living.  He was not sacrificing that for anything.

“We were going to spend the weekend together -- you, your little human, and me.  I’m not letting some annoying git ruin our time together.”

“It will be ruined if you die!”

He winced at her yell.  Jamming his hands in his pockets, he gave her his most charming smile.  “I won’t, love.  Worst that can happen is that I go to Hell --”

“Not an option!”

Her movements were jerky as she paced around a moment, before she suddenly froze and turned to look at him, a determined glint in her eye.  Before Lucifer could guess what she was up to, she walked right up and wrapped her arms around him.  Holding his arms away from her, he stiffened, unsure why she was hugging him and not quite knowing what to do.

“D-Detective?”

Her arms tightened a fraction.  “Mmm?”

“W-what are you doing?”

“I care about you so much.”  She snuggled against his chest.  “I can’t bear the thought of you in Hell.”

His insides suddenly felt like mush at her words, and his legs felt weak, like he had run a marathon.  The feel of her body pressed against his did funny things to his stomach, while the fragrance of her shampoo tantalized his nose.  Arousal engulfed him, setting his insides aflame.  Goodness, what was she doing to him?

As his arms slowly returned her embrace, he felt her hands slip under his jacket and caress his back.  He gasped as her hands scorched him through his silk shirt.  His heart beat like a jackhammer and his breaths grew short.  He burned for her....

“Will you take care of yourself?  For me?”

He couldn’t think -- what was she saying?  “Look, love --”

“Will you go home tonight?”

What?  No.  He shook his head.  “I... I....”  Desire ran rampant inside of him, clouding his thinking.  Bloody hell, why couldn’t he say no?

One of her hands moved to the front to draw intricate patterns on his shirt while the other stayed at his back.  She smiled coyly at him.  “Come on, Lucifer.  You don’t want to upset me, do you?”

“N-no....”  Oh,  _ now _ the ‘no’ came out!

“Then why don’t you go on home tonight?”

What?!  No no no no no!  “I --”

Chloe pressed her palm against Lucifer’s chest, making his heart feel like it was going to thump right out of his body.  Struggling to control his passion, he took a deep breath... then another.  But when she gazed at him with those big, aqua eyes, doing her best impression of her little one, he knew it was only a matter of time before he lost all resistance to her charms.

“For me, Lucifer?  Please?”

He couldn’t think!  What did she want?  Bloody hell, what did she want him to do?!  Because he’d do it --

“Yes -- anything.  Anything you want....” he heard himself say.

She became all business as she grinned triumphantly at him.  “Good!  Go on home, then.”  She pulled away, leaving him bereft of her touch.  The sexual haze that had fogged his brain suddenly cleared as she pushed him into the driver’s seat of his car.  What the hell had he just promised?

“Wait -- what?”  He looked up at her as she slammed the driver’s door shut.  “Wait, Detective --”

Leaning over, she gave him a brief kiss on the lips, which stunned him into speechlessness.  When she pulled away, he couldn’t say a word to save his life.  He just gazed up at her with what he feared were the dreaded goo-goo eyes.

Stroking his stubbly cheek, she said softly, “Thank you, Lucifer.”  She gave the hood of the car a pat.  “Now get going and stay safe!”

Long after she had walked away, he was still sitting in his car, his mouth agape.  He couldn’t believe that she had just outmaneuvered him.  As that realization hit, a reluctant smile touched his lips.  “Well played, Detective,” he said as he started the Corvette.

 

 

________________________________________

 

 

Chloe woke up the next morning, her head feeling like cotton.  Damn, she had been so worried over Lucifer after those two attacks that she hadn’t been able to sleep.  Who could be gunning for him? She had studied the sketch the police artist had done, but didn’t recognize the man.  He was completely unknown to her.  A run through the police database had turned up nothing.

Rolling over, she thumped her pillow hard before realizing she wasn’t going to be able to go back to sleep. With a sigh, she pulled herself out of bed and reached for the tablet on her nightstand.  Logging onto AO3, she was surprised to see that Lucifer had written a new story, and had gifted it to her.  Her face lit up as she read the title: “A Teddy Bear for the Devil.”  It was the story she had asked him to write for Trixie.  Her insides melted at his kindness, and she smiled as a blush stained her cheeks.  Her Devil was so good to her!  She quickly read it and nodded.  It was very kid-friendly.  Trixie would be so excited!  She couldn’t wait to read it to her daughter at bedtime.

Although it was still early, she decided to call Lucifer to thank him.  Would he be up early on a Sunday morning?  Frowning, she hoped she wouldn’t wake him -- or interrupt a threesome.  She quickly dialed.

“Hello, Detective!” his voice purred in her ear.

“How did it go last night?  Any attempts on your life?”

“None at all.  A bit disappointing, really.  I was hoping the wanker would come after me so that I could give him some... punishment.”

She chuckled.  “You and your punishment.  I’m just glad you’re safe.”

“Of course I’m safe.  Immortal, remember?”

She sat on the edge of her bed, smiling as she imagined him on the other end.  What would he be wearing?  That black sexy silk robe?  Or would he already be dressed in a suit?  “Well, I’m still glad you’re okay.  We’ll have to stay separated until we catch this guy --”

“I’m afraid I can’t do that, darling.”

A knock on her bedroom door grabbed her attention away from the phone.  “Hold on, Lucifer -- someone’s at my door.  Probably Trixie --”

She opened it to find Lucifer on her threshold, dressed in a spiffy black suit with a burgundy shirt.  He spoke into the phone he held to his ear.  “No, love, it’s me.”

Stashing his device into his pocket, he strode into the bedroom and shut the door.  Suddenly feeling naked in her old flannel nightshirt, she crossed her arms in front of her and backed away.  Stalking her like a predator, he matched her step-for-step as he approached, until she bumped into the wall behind her.

“L-Lucifer!  You’re supposed to be at home --”

“Right.  I did as I promised and went home last night.”  He grinned wickedly as he pulled the phone out of her suddenly boneless fingers and tossed it on the bed. “But you never said anything about today.”  He placed both hands on the wall on either side of her head, effectively trapping her, but didn’t touch her.  His dark eyes looked black with desire as their gaze touched her lips, her eyes, and her folded arms.  Leaning just close enough so that she could feel the blazing warmth pouring off of his body, he breathed, “I believe a little tit for tat is in order.”

She couldn’t think.  He was too close, and was overwhelming in his proximity. “What?”

“Let me stay, Detective.  You know you want me to.”  He leaned in close to her ear and blew in it, then whispered in his seductive voice.  “I need to be with you.  Let me spend the day with you.”

She shook her head, trying to get herself under control as fierce arousal shot through her body.  “N-no.  You have to stay away --”

“I can’t.”  As he pulled back and stared at her lips, her mouth opened a fraction of its own accord.  Their breaths intermingled as he leaned in so achingly close that she could almost feel his lips on hers -- almost.  “I can’t stay away from you,” he said as he wove a spell around her with his sensuous voice.  “You’re the air I breathe.  My sunlight.  You control the beating of my heart.”

He was stealing her ability to think.  She just wanted his lips on hers....  “Lucifer --”

“You’re so beautiful.  Do you know how beautiful you are?”  He lifted a hand from the wall and brought it close to her cheek.  If she just moved a millimeter, his hand would be cupping her face.  Biting her lower lip, she squeezed her eyes shut and struggled against her desire.  He was so close....

“Will you let me stay by you?” he asked softly.  “I’ll make you breakfast....”

Chloe couldn’t have cared less about breakfast.  If he would just touch her...!

“What do you say, love?  Tell me you’ll let me stay.”

“I... I....”  If this was how he treated the Brittanys, no wonder they fell all over him!

“Come on... let me stay.  Please.”

It was the “please” that did it.  Calling herself ten times a fool, she caved in.  “Yes -- yes!  Just kiss me --”

And then his lips were on hers, soft, gentle, tender.  But she didn’t want tender. She deepened the kiss, cupping his face in her hands and pulling him closer.  For a moment he pulled back and  hesitated, looking deep into her eyes, before he kissed her again -- this time fiercely, passionately, like a dying man in the desert who had just gotten a sip of water.  His arms wrapped around her tightly and his hands caressed her through her nightshirt.  His body radiated so much heat she felt like she stood in a bonfire as she burned with desire....

A thump on the door had them ending the kiss abruptly.

“Mommy?  Are you up yet?  I’m hungry!”  Trixie thumped on the door again.

With a soft groan, Lucifer pulled back, panting hard as he leaned his forehead against hers.  Chloe felt triumph inside.  She had done that to him -- taken his breath away, made him lose control in that kiss.

But that had been a very close call.  Who knew where things might have gone if Trixie hadn’t come along?  And she certainly didn’t want to hop into bed with him until she was sure she wasn’t going to be just another notch on his bedpost.  Chloe cleared her throat and called out in a wobbly voice, “You go get dressed, monkey!  I’ll start breakfast in a minute.”

When the pitter-patter of little footsteps faded into the distance, the Devil turned back to her, his eyes black with desire, but she gave a little shake of her head.  With a disappointed sigh, he turned away from her and made his way to her bed, where he sat down on its edge.  She could see the fine trembling in his hand as he ran it over his flushed face.

“You... you’re amazing,” Lucifer managed to say.  “That kiss was... I’ve never....”  He suddenly chuckled ruefully.  “Right.  I... I think my... tit for tat backfired, but at least I got you to agree to let me stay.”

She frowned at him.  “You are a very stubborn man.”

He gave her a sensuous smile.  “I  _ am _ the Devil, love.”

“Yes, well, the Devil needs to keep his promise and go make breakfast,” she said as she grabbed his hand and pulled him toward the door.  “Go on!  I need to get dressed.”

His eyes lit up and he grinned.  “Ooooh, I can help you with that --”

_ “Out.” _  She shoved him into the hall and slammed the door in his disappointed face.  Then she burst out laughing.  Her stubborn Devil was going to be the death of her....

 

 


	7. Encounter at LUX

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A super-huge thank you to my excellent beta, ScooterThyme! You rock!

 

 

The day went well for Lucifer, or at least he liked to think so.

There was no sign of the shooter that day, but then again, they didn’t leave the apartment.  Maze kept watch as they spent the entire day inside watching movies and ordering take out.  It drove Lucifer mad.  He wanted to take them all out to wonderful places to eat, but Chloe insisted they stay out of public areas.  The urge to throw things grew as he chafed under the restrictions.  That assailant had really ruined his day with the detective!  By evening, he was crawling the walls.  He had to get out.

“This is bloody unacceptable!” he said after dinner as he stood up from the couch.  “Detective, you and I are going out.”

Chloe’s mouth dropped open. “Are you insane?  There’s a man out there who’s trying to kill you!  You have to stay protected!”

“You wanted to meet Shipperstar -- we planned on it.  Call her and let her know we’ll meet her at LUX in half an hour.  I’m not letting some bloody sod ruin what’s left of my weekend.”  Without waiting for an answer, he turned and signaled to his demon keeping watch at the living room window.  “Maze, a word?”  He walked to the kitchen, with the bounty hunter close behind.

“If you want to go out, you have to leave Chloe behind,” Maze said bluntly.

“I’m not letting that tosser tell me how to live my life,” snapped the Devil.  “The detective and I are going to go out and have a nice drink with one of my readers, then enjoy a private evening alone.  We haven’t been alone all weekend.”

Maze nodded.  “Fine, I’ll go with you.”

Lucifer shook his head.   _“Alone,_ Maze.”

She stared incredulously at him.  “But -- you can’t go without me!  You’ll get killed if the shooter shows up!  I’m here to protect you --”

“We’ll be fine,” Lucifer said placatingly.  “Right.  We’ll be at LUX.  It’s filled with people.  The shooter wouldn’t possibly try anything there.”

“You don’t know that!”  The demon shook her head.  “I’m going with you.”

He sighed.  “No.  I want to spend some quality time with the detective, and just knowing you’re out there will muck up my jam.”

Maze’s eyebrows lifted and she smirked.  “Oh, you’re going to romance her, is that it?”  Before Lucifer could answer, she started laughing like there was no tomorrow.  “You -- you’re so soft!  Now I _have_ to go and spy on you!”

Eyes flashing red, Lucifer took a threatening step toward her.  “Bloody hell, you will _not.”_

Trying to keep a straight face, she smiled crookedly.  “You can’t stop me.”

He got toe to toe with her and bared his teeth.  “Don’t test me, Maze.”

At his warning, the demon backed off.  “Okay, fine -- I won’t.  But you can’t go unprotected.”

The fire faded from Lucifer’s eyes as he relaxed.  “The detective will have her gun, but nothing will happen -- trust me.”

Maze only snorted.

“And take care of the little one.  The detective will feel better knowing that you are here to protect the little spawn.”

The demon straightened at that, looking smug as she said, “Hell yeah, no one will get near the little human when I’m around.”

When they returned to the living room, Chloe stood up and glared at Lucifer.  “There’s no way in Hell we are going to go out tonight.”

He sighed.  He’d have to tread a little more carefully around the detective.  “Look, love, I want to spend an evening out.  Can you just give me a few hours alone with you?”

She shook her head vehemently.  “No.  You’ll just have to suck it up.  We’re staying here.”

Lucifer rolled his eyes.  “Right.  If I stay here, I’m going to go out of my mind!”  He stood as close to her as he could without touching her, and dropped his voice to a seductive purr.  “Come on, love.  We’ll be perfectly safe, I assure you.  LUX is filled with people.  He won’t try anything there.  And then right after we can go up to the penthouse.”  He gave her his best heart-stopping grin.  “Maybe we could... you know....”

Disappointment washed through him when she only eyed him suspiciously.  “What?”

Hanging his head, he rubbed his eyes.  Why was his detective so dense sometimes?  “You know... have a romantic evening together.”

Chloe stared at him for a minute before a blush stole onto her cheeks, turning them a fiery red.  Lucifer found it charming. “Oh.”

His face softened as he studied her features.  Reaching up, he caressed her cheek and reveled in the warmth in them.  “Please.  I need some private time with you.  Please, Chloe.”

Her aqua eyes flew to his, surprise registering on her face at the sound of her given name on his lips.  Her shoulders slumped.  “Fine, but let it be known that I think this is a bad idea.”

He nodded with a tender smile.  “So noted.”

 

 

________________________________________

 

 

Shipperstar wasn’t at all how Lucifer imagined her to be.

He had thought she would be a rail-thin, statuesque, dark-haired beauty.  Instead she was a cute, curvy woman a full head shorter than him, with fluffy red hair and freckles dusting the bridge of her little upturned nose.   _A little fireball_ was the description that popped into his head at the sight of her.

Giving her a smile full of charm, he said, “Ah, Ellen-Elizabeth -- or should I say Shipperstar?  So very nice to meet you at last.”  He handed her the bottle of Guinness she had requested and took a seat on the couch opposite her, next to Chloe.  “I appreciate your defense of me online.”

Ellen-Elizabeth Cummings smiled back.  Her eyes sparkled as she glanced at him and Chloe.  “It’s my pleasure, Lucifer.  I love your stories.  It’s so nice to meet you and your detective!  You make a beautiful couple.”

“Well!”  The fallen angel stood a little straighter and thrust out his chest as Chloe rolled her eyes at him.

“You can’t praise him too much, it just makes his head big,” she said with a laugh, “but thank you.”

“I’m so happy to meet you, but I really wanted to talk to you about your writings,” Ellen-Elizabeth said.  Lucifer and Chloe exchanged glances, then looked at her.  “Look, I’m a social worker and work primarily with helping foster kids get mental health care.  Lucifer, I’m really worried about you.”

He blinked at her.  “You are?”

She nodded.  “That reviewer -- your brother? -- Amenadiel, is bullying you and it’s not cool.”

For a moment the fallen angel just stared, then laughed nervously.  “That’s ridiculous.  I’m not being bullied.”

“I disagree.”  The redheaded woman looked him dead in the eye.  “From what I could gather from your writings, you’re clearly working through some serious stuff and he’s coming into this space you’ve created for yourself and piles on with insults and negativity.”  She paused and raised an eyebrow.  “I’m guessing you guys have overbearing, religious zealot parents that tried to convince you that you’re somehow The Devil?  Perhaps a sibling or two joined in so the parents would leave them alone…”

“But I _am_ the Devil --”

Ellen-Elizabeth took a sip from her beer bottle and shook her head vehemently.  “ _No_ , you’re not.  It’s a tragedy that you believe that you are!”  She leaned forward, her face concerned.  “Honey, you need help.  I can recommend some very good therapists --”

“I have one....”

The redheaded woman straightened with surprise.  “Oh.  Okay.  Well I hope you’re discussing your relationship with your brother with your therapist.”

Lucifer shifted in his seat, uncomfortable at the conversation.  “Not really....”

“You need to.  He’s bad news, Lucifer, and he clearly doesn’t care about hurting or humiliating you.  That sort of thing can be catastrophic to mental health.”

He thought hard.  Was his brother a bully?  He had never seen it like that.  After all, Amenadiel was just telling the truth.  He ran his hand through his hair.  It was too much to think about.  “Thank you so much for your concern.  I’ll take your advice under advisement.”

Ellen-Elizabeth frowned.  “Look, I just want to be sure you’re getting help.  Bad things can result when you suffer through it alone.”

Chloe tucked her hand in the crook of Lucifer’s arm.  “He’s not alone, anymore.”

Warmth burst through the fallen angel’s heart as he heard his partner’s words.  She always knew just the right things to say to make him feel better.  Brightening, he reached over and stroked her hand at his elbow.

Ellen-Elizabeth’s eyes softened as she studied the pair.  “I can see that.  That’s wonderful.”

As the two women started talking quietly, Lucifer’s attention was caught by a figure standing at the bar.  His eyes narrowed as irritation shot through him.  “Oh bloody hell, what’s _he_ doing here?”

Lucifer glowered as Amenadiel spotted him and started weaving his way through the patrons on the dance floor.  Sighing, he cast an apologetic glance at Chloe, whose face had suddenly gotten that scary look she always got when she wanted to beat someone up.  Thankfully this time her ire was not directed at him.

When Ellen-Elizabeth glanced at the blonde woman, a question in her eyes, the detective pointed at the approaching man with her chin.  “Lucifer’s brother.”

The other woman’s eyebrows rose.  “Is that... Amenadiel?”

“Yes.  Would you excuse me, ladies?”  Lucifer gracefully rose from the couch and went to meet the angel.  Lifting his chin, he stared hard at the angel as he strode up to him.  “What brings you here, brother?”

“We need to talk,” Amenadiel said, his whole demeanor enigmatic.

The fallen angel’s eyebrows furrowed.  “About what?”

His brother stared across the room, his eye twitching.  Lucifer followed his gaze to see him staring at Chloe.  His insides twisted with concern.  This was about the detective...?

Pushing past him, Amenadiel marched toward the table where the two women sat.  Lucifer hurried after him, wondering what was going on in his brother’s head.  He caught up with his brother just as he started speaking to the blonde detective.

“Well, I’m a bit surprised to see you here, Chloe.  I was hoping you’d have the good sense to stay away from Luci.”  The angel’s eyes were contemptuous as they raked over the Devil.  “He’s not worth your time.”

“Who are you to say that?” Ellen-Elizabeth spat as she stood up and got toe to toe with the angel.

Amenadiel looked down at her.  “And who might you be?”

Sensing trouble, Lucifer immediately stepped between his brother and his guest, then turned to the small woman.  “Please, let me handle this.”  She merely shoved him aside.

“My name is Ellen-Elizabeth Cummings, but you might know me as Shipperstar, you ass.”

“Shipperstar?”  The angel barked out a mocking laugh.  “It figures.  You should mind your own business and stop defending Lucifer online.  He’s the Devil.”

The red-headed woman looked like she was going to explode.  “Why you --”  Without any warning, she punched Amenadiel in the stomach.  He didn’t even flinch.

As Ellen-Elizabeth stared at him with shock, the burly man just gazed down at her with amusement all over his face.  “Really?  Is that the best you can do?”

Cursing, Lucifer grabbed his brother’s arm.  “Don’t.  Let’s go upstairs --”

“No.”  He shrugged off the fallen angel’s grip.  “No, this is just getting interesting.  I have a bone to pick with this little one.  She’s rude to me on AO3 -- I have a right to defend myself, don’t I?”

At that, Chloe stood up and stood beside Lucifer.  “She’s done nothing but defend your brother, Amenadiel -- something _you_ should be doing.”

“You should be ashamed of yourself,” the red-headed woman hissed.  “Treating your brother like trash and calling him Evil Incarnate is unacceptable!  Don’t you realize what you’re doing to him?”

“I’m only speaking the truth.  Luci is big on truth.  He can take it.”

“But it’s not the truth!”  Chloe’s voice was low and tight as her eyes narrowed dangerously on the angel.  “You don’t even know him --”

Amenadiel’s laughter was full of contempt.  “You know nothing about the situation, Chloe, because you refuse to see him for what he is.”

“You’re so full of yourself!” spat Ellen-Elizabeth.  “I don’t know how you two can even be related --”

“Enough!” Amenadiel roared.

Lucifer shoved his way between the women and his brother.   _“Don’t_ talk to my guests that way.”

“Then tell them to open their eyes and see you for what you are.”

Lucifer stared hard at his brother, feeling heat creep up his neck and into his cheeks as hurt rose within him.  Bloody hell, Amenadiel was so sure that he wasn’t worthy of anyone’s company.  He dimly wondered what he had ever done to his brother to garner this type of contempt.  Biting his lower lip, he said, “The Detective knows what I am --”

“Yes.”  Chloe took a step forward as she glared at Amenadiel.  “He’s a good man.”

Lucifer’s chest puffed out with pride as he smiled smugly at his brother.

Chloe poked the angel in the chest.  “You’re the one who’s horrible, telling him how selfish he is and how he doesn’t deserve happiness --”

Amenadiel sighed.  “You don’t understand anything, Chloe.  Can’t you see?  He’ll destroy you because he selfishly desires you.  He can’t think beyond himself.  He’s a child.”

“I am not a child!”  Lucifer stepped protectively in front of Chloe as rage worked its way through him, dulling his senses and causing his head to throb in time with his pounding heart.  “You have no right --”

Amenadiel shoved him back.  “You _are_ a child!  Look at yourself, Luci!  You’re going to destroy Chloe and it’s going to be all your fault because you are a selfish bast --”

Chloe’s fist smashed into Amenadiel’s face.  Lucifer started at her action, then grinned widely.  She was such a spitfire!  But as with Ellen-Elizabeth, the angel didn’t even flinch.  He calmly turned toward her and said, “I thought we were friends.  Now why did you do that?”

Suddenly fearful, Lucifer grabbed Chloe by the shoulders, pulling her away from his brother.  With a defiant lift of his chin, he once again planted himself in front of Amenadiel.  “You will not touch the detective, or my guest.”

He snorted.  “I have no intention of touching Chloe.  But I did come to tell you something important _about_ Chloe.”

The detective’s eyes narrowed.  “What do you mean?”

“Yes, brother, what do you mean?” Lucifer asked, his eyes narrowed suspiciously as he cocked his head.

Amenadiel looked him up and down, glanced at the two women, then at the oblivious clubgoers around them.  “Not here.”

A sense of foreboding fell over the fallen angel as the blood drained from his face.  If his brother wasn’t willing to say his piece in front of Chloe, it couldn’t be good.  Turning to the women, he gave them an uneasy smile.  “I’m sorry, my dears, but my brother and I have some private things to discuss.  Would you be so kind as to excuse us?”

Chloe glared at the Devil.  “If it’s about me, I want to hear --”

He shook his head.  “We have a guest, love.  It’s rude to abandon her.”

Ellen-Elizabeth piped up, “I can go --”

“Not like this.”  He gave the redheaded woman a firm glance before turning back to his partner.  “Can you please see her off properly?  I should be back down by the time you’ve done that.  If not, please come up.”

Not waiting for an answer, he gripped Amenadiel by the arm and steered him toward the elevator.  As they stepped inside, Lucifer ground out, “Bloody hell, this better be worth it.”

Amenadiel looked at him with hooded eyes.  “Oh, it is, Luci.  It is.”

 

 


	8. Amenadiel Reveals the Truth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A super-huge thank you to my beta, ScooterThyme! You rock!

 

 

“Now what is going on?” Lucifer asked as he and Amenadiel poured out of the elevator.

His brother headed to the bar, then leaned on the counter as he turned back to him.  A strange expression lit his face, one Lucifer couldn’t really interpret. “You will never guess where I was yesterday.”

The Devil’s brows furrowed as he cocked his head.  “Family Fundays at Theatricum Botanicum?  How the bloody hell should I know?”

“No.  I was at Laemmle’s Playhouse 7 in Pasadena.  You know, the theatre where they have all the indie films?”  Amenadiel crossed his arms in front of him.  “They were having a Penelope Decker film festival there.”

Lucifer blinked.  “You went to see the detective’s mother’s films?”

“I didn’t realize it was her film festival, at first -- I just like Eighties sci-fi flicks.  But then... I recognized her.”

Squinting, the fallen angel tried to follow along.  “I don’t see your point.  Of course you’d recognize her, she’s famous.”

Amenadiel shook his head.  “No, you don’t understand.  I _recognized_ her.”

Lucifer still didn’t get it.  Frustrated, he walked over to join his brother at the bar and poured himself a glass of Scotch.  “Well, yes.  Like I said, she’s famous.”

“No, no, no.”  Amenadiel waved his hand dismissively.  “I went home and did some research on the Internet, and found out that she was Chloe’s mother.”

Downing his drink, the Devil studied his brother as he placed the glass back down on the counter.  “So?”

“So?”  The burly angel laughed.  “Don’t you see?”

“See what?!”

“Thirty-five years ago, Father sent me down here to bless a couple who couldn’t conceive.  The mother was Penelope Decker -- Chloe’s mother.”  Amenadiel leaned close.  “Don’t you get it?  Your _girlfriend_ \--” he said the word contemptuously, like a curse word, “-- was made by Father.  He used me as a pawn to make Chloe.”

No.

Instantly rejecting the notion that Chloe was his father’s creation, Lucifer gawked, then chuckled at his brother.  Taking a step back, he forced out another bark of laughter.  “What have you been smoking, brother?  There’s no way the detective was made by Dad -- at least, not like that.”

“I’m telling the truth, Luci.”

“No, you must be mistaken.”  He held up his finger to Amenadiel.  “This is some bloody joke, isn’t it?  The Detective can’t be --”

“Luci --”

 _“No!”_  Lucifer whirled on his brother, teeth bared and eyes glowing red.  “No, you’re lying!”

I’m not lying.”

All the blood rushed out of Lucifer’s face, and he suddenly felt faint.  No.   _No._  That couldn’t be right.  There was no way...!  “You have to be lying.  You have to be --”

“Father threw her into your path.  He manipulated me.  He’s manipulating you.”

No no nononono --

The Devil backed away from his brother, shaking his head.  “No.  You’re lying.  She’s not --”

“Look at me, brother.”  Amenadiel walked up and wrapped his hands around the sides of the fallen angel’s neck, forcing him to meet his eyes.  “Am I lying?”

Lucifer stared into his brother’s eyes and saw the truth there.

_No --_

He swallowed hard, trying to get past the lump in his throat.  He needed to sit down -- he couldn’t think, couldn’t breathe.  Stumbling to the piano, he tried to sit on the bench but missed and ended up sprawled in an ungraceful heap on the floor.

_No...._

Footsteps drew close.  Looking up, he saw Amenadiel staring down at him with pitying eyes.  His brother squatted down to get a better look at him.  Lucifer balled his hands into fists as he gritted his teeth and asked the one question that burned within him.

_“Why?”_

Amenadiel lifted an eyebrow.  “Why?”

Rage filled the fallen angel, coupled with loss.  Chloe was Dad’s creation.  How could he have any sort of future with her, knowing that Dad had sent her to him?  And did she know?  Was she all part of his father’s manipulations to make him come to heel like a dog? A roaring in his ears, much like the sound of crashing surf, dulled the sound of the outside world, and he could hear the thumps of his heart beating fast, like a bird’s.  The back of his eyes burned, but he blinked it away.  He’d be damned if he was going to show any weakness to his brother.

“I was happy,” he managed to say through his pain.  “Why would you tell me this?”

His brother snorted.  “You go through your life completely oblivious to everyone and everything around you.  You’re so selfish that you hurt others and don’t even care.”

“No --”

 _“Yes._  Look at you, Luci.  You get everything you want.  All I wanted was to have Father’s approval, and instead, he sends me to make a girlfriend for you -- _you!_  It’s always about you!  Well, you should learn by now that you don’t get to have everything.  You’re not some golden child... and if you are, it’s because Father is having a hand in it.”  Amenadiel rose to his feet.  “I’m sick of being used to make you happy.  You deserve to know that you’re being manipulated as much as I am.”

“Well, congratulations, brother,” the fallen angel snarled.  “You can pat yourself on the back.  Now I know I’m a bloody pawn, and everything I had is ash.  Mission accomplished.”

Amenadiel sighed.  “Look, I don’t want to hurt you, but you need to see that everything is not just about you.  Now leave these humans alone.  You don’t belong here.  You’re the Devil, Luci.  Either go back to Hell or come home to Heaven with Mom and I.  Let’s show Father that we are not his chess pieces.”

“I have only one answer to that.”  Lucifer pushed himself off the floor and rose to his feet unsteadily, then punched his brother in the face.  Amenadiel staggered backward, shaking his head to clear it.

“I’ll let you have that one, Luci, because I know you’re shocked.”

“Did the detective know, all this time?”  Lucifer took a threatening step toward the angel. _“Did she know?”_

Amenadiel sighed and rolled his eyes.  “You just don’t get it, do you?  You need to leave Chloe alone.  You need to come home.”

Lurching forward, the fallen angel grabbed his brother’s shirt in his fists and pulled him close to his raging red eyes.  “Answer me!   _Did she know?”_

“Do you really want the answer to that?”

The Devil stood frozen as all sorts of thoughts tumbled through his mind, one after another.  Had Chloe known?  Had she played him all this time?  Was this truly all part of some horrid game by Dad?  He couldn’t think straight --

With deliberate movements, Amenadiel removed his brother’s slack hands from his shirt, then clasped Lucifer’s shoulder.  “We don’t have to be Father’s pawns.  We can be free of him, if we go home and confront him.”  When Lucifer said nothing, he added, “Think about it, okay?”

Amenadiel left then, leaving his brother shattered in the middle of his penthouse.

Lucifer didn’t know how long he stood there, staring at nothing.

_Chloe...._

Squeezing his eyes shut, he desperately tried to get a hold of himself.  Chloe wasn’t manipulative -- she was good.  The best.  She cared for him, and he loved her.  They had been happy....

But now that was all gone.  Gone, like it had never existed.  His insides had been ripped open by a giant black hole that devoured all of his happiness, all of his love -- indeed, it destroyed all that he was.  And what was he left with?  Nothing.  Nothing but the ashen ruins of his heart, laid to waste.  He would never be the same again.

Pressing his hands to his head, Lucifer took deep breaths and struggled to control the emptiness inside him.  He felt as if he was going mad.  How could he live like this?  After that shocking news, there was no way he could live with her, but how could he live without her?  Thoughts spun around his head, round and round, creating a vortex of confusion.  He couldn’t think.

The elevator dinged, but he didn’t even hear it in his agony.

“Lucifer?”

He whirled at the sound of Chloe’s voice, for a moment thinking that he really had gone mad.  But no, she looked solid and reassuringly real.

“D-Detective?”   He struggled to find his composure.  “What... what are you doing here?”

“You left us downstairs, remember? I saw off Ellen-Elizabeth.”  She approached him, her face drawn into worried lines.  “Hey, are you okay?  You look pale --”  Reaching out, she stroked his stubble-lined cheek.

Flinching at her touch, he backed away.

_Thirty-five years ago, Father sent me down here to bless a couple who couldn’t conceive...._

Chloe’s eyes narrowed at his actions.  “Lucifer...?”

 _Your_ girlfriend _was made by Father._

He couldn’t think, couldn’t breathe.  She was standing right in front of him, with a face full of innocence, like a child’s.  There was no way that she could be duplicitous... could she?

“Lucifer, are you okay?” she asked as she approached him once again.  “What happened?”

She was so beautiful -- so full of grace and light.  He should have known she was special -- that she had been touched by divinity.  After all, she had always been immune to his charms, and she made him mortal.  She felt like the other half of his soul -- but of course, that was because she had been tailor-made just for him, like a bespoke suit.

_Father threw her into your path._

Why would his father do something like this?  Why?  What purpose did Dad have to gain by giving him a... a girlfriend?  Was she supposed to get him to go back to Hell?  Or was this his father’s way to make him heel, toe the company line, return to the fold... and do his bidding?

He didn’t know.  He didn’t know anything anymore.  His world had been turned upside down and he couldn’t tell which way was up.  He couldn't _think --_

He wanted to scream in anguish.  Why had Amenadiel destroyed his world?  Why did his brother feel the need to ruin the one good thing in his life?  Oh, if only he could just go back in time, he could forget this ever happened --

But he couldn’t, could he?  No.  He could never go back.

_He manipulated me.  He’s manipulating you._

Anger started to build slowly within him.  At his father, at Amenadiel, at the world around him... and at Chloe.

_...threw her into your path...._

He had died for her -- gone back to Hell for her -- and for what?  No reason at all, for Dad would never let anything happen to his precious creation, now would he?  No, Dad had used him so that he’d find Mum and get her back to Hell.  All part of the long con....

Everything he had felt was a lie.  All of these... feelings of love and happiness for her...  All a lie.  Nothing was real.  She wasn’t even real.  Her feelings weren’t real.  Everything she said about caring for him, thinking he wasn’t a monster, seeing him as a good man... all a lie.

It was all a sham, and he had fallen for it, hook, line and sinker, like the gullible son he was.

He turned to her, his eyes full of hurt and rage.  She stood before him in all of her radiance, her blinding beauty, her face full of concern.

“Lucifer, what’s wrong?” she asked as she touched his arm.

Lies.  All lies.

Pulling away, he took a few steps backward and asked her the one question burning in his brain.

“Did you know?”

 

 


	9. Confrontation with Chloe

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A super-huge thank you to my beta, ScooterThyme! You make my work shine!

 

 

“Did you know?”  Lucifer stared at Chloe, rage burning him to the core and setting his eyes ablaze.   _ “Did you know?” _

Chloe tilted her head, her face full of puzzlement.  “Know what?  What are you talking about?”

He stared long and hard at her, taking in her confusion.  Could she not have known?  Truly?  He didn’t know.  He didn’t know who to trust or what to believe.  What Amenadiel had said... it hurt terribly.  Paranoia tugged at him, whispering in his ear that he could no longer trust her or anyone else, for that matter.  Everything reeked of Dad’s design.  Hurting like a wounded animal, he just wanted to strike out at someone.  Anyone.  No -- at Dad.  And the nearest one who was his creation was standing right in front of him.

Chloe.

Made by Dad, just for him.

He wanted to throw furniture around the room.  Had everything been a lie?  Had she known all this time that he was the Devil and had played him?  Was she manipulating him for some purpose known only to her and Dad?  For that master manipulator was back up to his old tricks, there was no doubt about that.  Sticking his nose where it didn’t belong....  Would he ever be free of the bastard?

“Did you lie to me?” he spat.

She shook her head, her brows furrowed.  “What are you talking about?  What the hell did Amenadiel tell you?”

_ “Did you lie to me?” _

“About  _ what?” _

“All these feelings!”  He spun on his heel and headed to the bar, where he poured himself a large glass of Scotch with shaky hands.  His insides felt strange and his head throbbed in time with his heartbeat.  Gulping the alcohol down, he slammed the glass onto the counter, then turned to look at her.  Bloody hell, the sight of her twisted his stomach.  “Did you lie when you said you cared?  That I was important?  Or has this all been part of some sick game designed by you and Dad?”

“What the  _ hell _ are you talking about?”  She marched right up to him and yanked at his arm, turning him toward her.  He kept his eyes averted from her face.  He couldn’t look at her.  The betrayal hurt too much.

“I mean, Detective, that I know that you and Dad have been in collusion all this time.  I don’t know what his game is, but you can go tell him I want nothing to do with him -- or you.”

“What?  Collusion?!”  Her eyes narrowed.  “You’re not making any sense --”

“I’m making perfect sense!” he roared, pulling his arm from her grasp and taking a step away from her.  Agony swamped his insides, tightening his throat so he couldn’t swallow and constricting his lungs until his breaths came in strangled gasps.  Was he dying?  Yes, perhaps he was... for all of his happiness was shriveling up into a dessicated husk.  “How could you betray me like this?  I trusted you!”

“I didn’t betray you!  I don’t even know what you’re talking about!”

“Dear old Dad threw you in my path -- he engineered everything!  You!  Your meeting me!  He made you care for me -- you’ve been under his control all this time!”

Chloe’s cheeks grew red and her eyes narrowed dangerously as she marched up to him.  At the sight of her anger, Lucifer felt the usual flush of arousal which she instilled in him, but he viciously pushed it away.  Now was not the time to be waylaid by his desires.  It was just what Dad wanted, and he’d go back to Hell before he did what that manipulative bastard wanted him to do.

Pain exploded in his face as Chloe slammed her fist into his eye.  His head snapped back as he struggled to keep on his feet.  His reasoning returned for a brief moment.  Had he been wrong?  Had she not known?  She was so angry....  As he regained his footing, he studied her.  She looked furious -- and hurt.  Her eyes were overbright with unshed tears and her face was as pale as a sheet.  His insides clenched -- he didn’t want to hurt her! -- but then his anger returned in full force.  Hardening his heart, he straightened and looked down his nose at her.

“You need to leave,” he said.

“You need to listen to me!” she yelled back.  “I don’t know what you’re talking about, but I didn’t betray you.  You mean everything to me!”

_ “Liar!   _ I don’t mean anything to you, because you’ve known all this time and have been playing me for a fool!”

Her fist connected with his face once again, this time in the jaw.  He crashed to the floor and lay there for a moment, trying to clear his head.  Chloe always did have a nasty right hook....

“I am  _ not _ a liar.  I don’t know what the hell Amenadiel told you, but my feelings for you are real.  But if you can’t see that -- if a simple word from your brother is all it takes to make you hate me, then maybe what  _ you _ feel for  _ me _ isn’t real.”  As she stared down at him, the tears finally spilled from her eyes and coursed down her cheeks.  “I feel sorry for you.  You’re so sure that everyone is out to get you that you can’t see what’s staring you in the face.”

Her words sank into his rage-filled brain, calming him, returning reason to him.  His chest ached.  Had he made a mistake?  Had she not known that she had been made by Dad?  Should he tell her?

“Detective --”

“No.  No more, Lucifer.  You don’t get to yell and make false accusations against me.”  She lifted her chin in defiance of his anger and glared at him.  “I’m going to go now and let you cool down.  Talk to me when you get your head on straight.”

She turned on her heel and started to walk toward the elevator.

Lucifer watched her go as guilt washed through him.  Why should he feel guilty?  She was the one who was Dad’s creation!  And yet... and yet, she looked so hurt....  A horrible desolation welled up inside him, making him feel ill.  If she left now, would she return?  And why did he care if she returned or not?  After all, she was made by Dad -- sent by him to manipulate him!  And yet he couldn’t bear the thought of her leaving him.  Why?

His legs moved of their own accord, until he found himself standing in front of her, blocking her path.  He had no idea what he wanted to say to her, or even why he had stopped her, but he couldn’t stop himself.

“Detective....”

She paused, looking up at him, her face enigmatic.  “What?”

“I....”

Just then, the elevator doors slid open.  Bloody hell, who was it now?  Lucifer rolled his eyes and turned to look, expecting Mum -- but no, it was a blonde man.  A burly blonde man pointing a gun at him.  The same blonde man who had taken shots at him outside of Chloe’s apartment.

Lucifer immediately lifted his hands as he moved away from Chloe. “Who the hell are you?”

The man smiled, showing crooked teeth.  “Who I am isn’t important.  What I do -- _ that’s  _ important.”

“And shooting at me is important?” he snarled.

Chloe took a step forward, her eyes darting from the man to Lucifer.  “He’s the one who’s been shooting at you?”

The fallen angel shot a warning look to her, his protective instincts coming to the fore.  Despite her being Dad’s creation, he still loved her -- which confused him quite a bit, but now was not the time to think of such things.  She might have played him for a fool, but he had no intention of seeing her hurt.  She had to stay safe.  The thought of her injured -- or worse yet, dying -- made him want to vomit.

“You could say that,” the man said, pointing the gun at Lucifer while looking at Chloe.  “Now I know you’re a cop, so pull your gun out slow by two fingers and drop it, or I’ll blow his head off.”

She slowly reached for her gun and lowered it to the floor.  Straightening, she lifted her hands.  “Why are you shooting at Lucifer?  Do you have some grudge against him?”

“Shut up.”

Lucifer pasted an ingratiating smile on his face as he cocked his head.  “Right.  There’s no reason why you need the gun.  Why don’t you just put it down?  I’m sure we can come to some understanding....”

The man shook his head.  “Sorry, bub.  No dice.”

“At least tell us why you’re after Lucifer,” Chloe said, taking another step forward.  The fallen angel glanced at her nervously, hoping she wasn’t going to take any chances with her life.

“Stop asking questions and do what I say, pretty lady.  Both of you, over there -- now.”  The man waved his gun at them, ushering them both to the bar.

Studying the man carefully, Lucifer saw that he could easily take him, but he didn’t want a stray bullet to hit his partner.  He also wanted to know why this fellow wanted him dead, when he had never seen him before.  Although his heart drummed out a fierce beat, he took a deep breath and tried to relax.  He had to protect Chloe.

Lucifer pointed at the gun.  “Right.  Look, there’s really no need for that.  I have plenty of money if you want it.  Just tell me why you’re doing this.”

“Shut up and stay back.”  The blonde man smiled, showing off his crooked teeth once more.  “All you need to know is that I do what needs to be done.”  Without warning, he swung the gun at Chloe and squeezed the trigger.

_ “No!” _ Lucifer yelled as he reached for her, trying to take the bullet himself, but he was too late, too late --

She went down, the force of the bullet knocking her off her feet, and he roared like an angry lion as he rushed to her side.  Hovering over her as she writhed in pain, his brain went blank as he panicked.  What was he supposed to do?!  The bullet had caught her in the shoulder, thankfully, and not in the chest.  Horrible memories of Father Frank dying in his arms assailed him, causing widespread panic inside him.  Stop the bleeding -- he had to stop the bleeding!  Pressure on the wound...  Moving faster than he thought possible, he whipped off his jacket and pressed it on her bleeding shoulder.

Shaking her head, Chloe reached out and batted his hands away.  “Run!”

But he couldn’t run.  There was no way he could leave her like this.  Chloe was hurt --  _ his _ Chloe,  _ his detective -- _

He whipped his head around to glare at the gunman.  “You --”

Like an enraged bull he rushed his assailant.  Almost as if time had slowed down, he saw the man take aim at him, then heard a crack of thunder as something smashed into his chest.  He fell to the floor, staring at the blood staining his shirt.  Bloody mortality -- he couldn’t protect Chloe like this!

_ Chloe -- _

Turning, he saw her scramble to her feet and dive behind the bar.  When she popped her head around, she had a gun.  Ah, the one in her boot!  Clever detective!  He wanted to laugh, but couldn’t -- he could barely keep his thoughts straight as nausea hit him.  Following the gun’s line of sight as she fired, he turned to see the bullet hit the gunman in the side.

The blonde man cursed, then lurched over to the elevator and threw himself inside.

Over.  The threat was over.  As his body relaxed, overwhelming pain coursed through him, nearly knocking him out.  The world spun as he lay his head back against the floor and stared up at the ceiling.  So this was how it would end, then?  But this time there would be no reason for Dad to pull him back up from Hell.

Chloe suddenly came into his field of vision, her face full of fear.

“Lucifer!”

 

 


	10. Tending to Lucifer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A big thank you to my beta, ScooterThyme! You rock!

 

 

“Lucifer!”  

Chloe scrambled to the fallen angel’s side as panic erupted inside her, blinding her to everything but him.  There was so much blood everywhere --

He grimaced as he tried to wave her off.  “Go after him, Detective!”

Whipping off her jacket, she pressed it hard against his chest.  “I’m not leaving you.”

His voice sounded wheezy and hoarse.  “Find out who killed me --”

Fear ripped into her insides, nearly paralyzing her, but she pushed it down fiercely.  She had to stay calm.  Panic would just result in a dead Devil.  “You’re not dead yet.”

He chuckled.  “But soon.”  For a moment his eyes closed before flying open and focusing on her shoulder.  “You... you need medical attention.”

“It’s nothing.  I’ll be fine.”  Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out her phone and started dialing.

He studied her with pain-laden eyes.  “What are you doing?”

“Getting you help -- I’m calling the paramedics.”

Lucifer managed a mocking laugh.  “Oh, they treat angels, do they?”  He closed his eyes.  “Call them for you, Detective, and order a hearse for me.”

Oh god... she had forgotten.  He was right -- she couldn’t take him to a hospital.  “Stop being melodramatic,” she bit out.  She grabbed his hand and pushed it onto his wound.  “Keep pressure on it.”

His eyes flew open with surprise, and she could have sworn there was a flash of fear in them.  “You’re leaving?”

“I’m going to find something to patch you up.”  Rising swiftly to her feet, she strode to the bathroom and started rummaging through the counter drawers and medicine cabinet.  Finally finding some bandages, she ran back to Lucifer before realizing she needed to sterilize the wound before binding it.  Rushing to the bar, she grabbed the first bottle of whiskey she saw as well as a bar towel, then hurried back to the fallen angel.

He had closed his eyes again.  She scowled as she took in his pale face and labored breathing.   _Crap._  Well, she was not about to let him die.  

“Lucifer,” she called to him, and let out the breath she had been holding when he stirred.  Buttons flew as she tore his shirt open.  He gave a weak chuckle.

“Oooh, D-Detective, I didn’t know you had it in you.”

“Shut up.”  She wiped away the blood as best she could with the bar towel, then inspected the wound. The bandages he had on from his previous gunshot injury seemed to have helped lessen the damage, and for that, she was relieved.  Scissors -- she needed scissors to cut away the old bandages.  

Leaping to her feet, she grabbed a small knife from the bar, then returned to Lucifer’s side.  With quick, precise movements, she sliced the material away, exposing his injury.  The bullet hole was high and to the left on his chest, in the same location where she had been shot so long ago by Jimmy Barnes.  It did not appear to be big -- hopefully he wasn’t too badly injured on the inside.  

She swiftly opened the bottle of whiskey and poured it on his wound.  Crying out sharply, he twisted to escape her, but she held him down.

“Bloody hell!  What are you doing, woman?!”  

“Sterilizing your wound... well, hopefully it does the job.”

He cracked an eye open to study the bottle that she set beside him, then groaned.  “Bloody -- not the Macallan 55-Year-Old!”

“Don’t worry, there’s still some left for you to drink.”  Chloe wiped away the alcohol then propped him up so that she could strip his shirt off.  Hoping that what she was doing would be sufficient, she bound up his injury.  If only she knew more about angel physiology!  She desperately wanted him better.  

“Can you move?  I need to get you into bed.”  She wrapped her good arm around his shoulder and helped him sit up.

“Bloody hell,” he panted as she got him to his feet.  Arms slung around each other, they staggered about like two drunks until they reached his bed.  Lucifer toppled onto it.  Cursing under her breath, the blonde detective worked to get him into a comfortable position, propping him on pillows to keep the wound elevated.  She tried to move quickly, for she was running out of strength.  Her shoulder throbbed as blood flowed down her arm, making her lightheaded.  If she didn’t take care of herself, she’d be in no condition to take care of him.  Going to the hospital would have been the wisest course of action, but she had no intention of leaving her Devil alone... not when he was so badly wounded.

“I’ll be back,” she whispered to him, but she doubted he heard.  He had fallen unconscious.

Binding up her own wound turned out to be quite a chore.  She was able to stanch most, but not all, of the bleeding and somehow managed to wrap herself up before making her way back to Lucifer.  He looked deathly pale in the lamplight, and his breathing was labored.  He needed a hospital, or... something.  

But there was nothing she could do.  She made a quick call to Maze, who had first screamed with fury, then told her she’d be right over.  Once the demon arrived, she took a look at Chloe’s handiwork and shook her head.

“You did the best you could.  It’s up to him, now.”  Maze bared her teeth at her roommate.  “You and your stupid ability to make him mortal!  Dammit, I should have been here.  This would have never --”  She broke off and studied the blonde detective’s bloody shirt with narrowed eyes.  “You’re hurt.”

Chloe ignored her as she studied the Devil.  “I should have known something like this would happen --”

Maze poked Chloe’s shoulder, drawing a hiss and a curse from the detective.  “We need to get you to a hospital --”

“No.”  Taking several deep breaths, she said, “I’ll be okay.  I’m not leaving Lucifer.”

Maze frowned.  “I’ll stay with him --”

 _“No.”_  The blonde detective glared at the demon.  “This is my fault because I make him mortal.  I need to stay and make sure he doesn’t go to Hell.”

Maze stared at her, surprised.  “But that’s not something you can stop --”

Chloe felt like screaming.  Instead, she ground out, “I will _not_ leave him.”

A glint of respect entered the demon’s eyes.  “Okay.  I’ll watch Trixie for you.  Call me when he’s... out of danger.”

“I will.”  Chloe stared icily at Maze, fury written all over her face.  “There’s an artist’s sketch of the perpetrator at the station.  Get it.  Find this bastard.”

Maze gave her a feral smile, looking like the demon she was.  “You can bet on it.”

 

 

________________________________________

 

 

That night, Chloe watched her Devil go from bad to worse.  His face lost even more color and he grew deathly still.  It filled her with panic.  He may not have loved her anymore, but she still loved him with everything inside her.  Wincing from her own injury, she crawled into bed with him, fully clothed.  She wanted to wrap her arms around him, but her shoulder screamed in pain, so she settled for lying next to him and holding his hand.

Studying his profile, she spoke to him in a soft voice.  “Stay, Lucifer.  You can’t go to Hell -- I won’t let you.  Stay with me.  You mean everything to me -- you and Trixie.  Don’t go.  

“Look, I don’t know why you were so angry, but whatever it is, we can work it out, I know we can... but not if you’re down there and I’m up here.  That’s why you have to stay.  You’re so important to me, and to Trixie.  I... I love you.  I never told you, but I do.  You have to stay.  Please....”

When she realized she was crying, she bit her lower lip and squeezed her eyes shut.  She couldn’t cry -- she had to stay strong for him.  Mustering up a smile, she said, “I should tell you my fantasies about you.  Will that make you stay?  Nothing so... erotic as your PrinceLuci666 stories, but... well... let’s see....  Maybe one day, after dinner, we go up to your penthouse.  You’d be wearing... your navy suit with the vest, and the royal blue shirt.  You’re so handsome in blue....  I’ll have my camel coat on, with a white blouse and leggings.  As the elevator doors open, we slam into one wall of the car, then the other, as we kiss each other -- we’re both so hungry, so full of desire.  We take our jackets off as we spill into your penthouse.  I want you -- need you so badly.  I wrap my arms around your neck as you lift me onto your piano.  Your hands... your beautiful hands are so strong as they lift me up.  I can’t stop kissing you.    I can feel the muscles rippling under your shirt as I run my hands over your chest to get to the buttons.  I can’t work my fingers fast enough, so I tear your shirt and vest off -- you’re so perfect....”

 

 

________________________________________

 

 

Chloe wasn’t sure what woke her up.  Maybe it was the fact that she had left the lamp on, but more likely it was the vicious throbbing in her shoulder, or her head feeling like it was stuffed with cotton.  She was so cold... and her heart felt tired... weak.  She couldn’t seem to catch her breath, and the nausea washing over her was overwhelming.  Pulling herself out of bed, she stumbled out of the room and to the bar to get some water.  Hopefully that would help make her feel better.  After drinking, she checked the time on her phone -- 3:43 AM.  Late... or was that early?  She didn’t know -- she couldn’t think straight.  Everything seemed surreal.

When she made her way back to Lucifer’s bedroom, she saw that her Devil was looking much better -- color had returned to his cheeks.  Did he still have the bullet wound, or had it healed completely like the time when he had been shot by Malcolm Graham?  His eyes were also open -- he was awake.  She wondered if he remembered anything of what she had told him earlier, and felt the blood rush to her cheeks.  Hopefully not.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, she gave him a wan smile.  “Hello.”  

He said nothing, merely looked away.

Chloe frowned at him.  So that was how it was going to be.  Fine.  Well, at least he wasn’t in Hell.  “How do you feel?”

“Why didn’t you let me die?”  She could see a tic in his cheek from his teeth being clenched so tightly.  Apparently, he was still mad....

“You don’t belong in Hell,” she managed to say.  Her insides wobbled dangerously and she felt like she was going to pass out, but she pushed the sensations away.  She refused to show weakness to Lucifer when he was acting like an ass.

“Bloody hell, being there would have been less painful.”

Asking him what he meant was on the tip of her tongue, but she bit it back and kept her face a mask of calm, even though her teeth were beginning to chatter.  She was so cold!  Something was terribly wrong -- she had to leave... get home.  Surely there was some medication she could take there.  But before she did, she had to ask Lucifer the one question that was burning inside of her.

“What did Amenadiel tell you about me that made you so angry?”

His eyes flew to hers and his mouth fell open.  “Surely you know.”

She closed her eyes in an effort to clear her cloudy head.  “No... I don’t.”

“He said....”  Lucifer studied her for a moment, his eyes growing worried.  “Detective, you... you look awful.”

“I’m fine.”

“You were shot.”  His eyes darted to the bloody bandage on her shoulder.  “Bloody hell, you’re still bleeding --”  Writhing in pain, he tried to sit up, but fell back down with a cry.

“What the hell are you doing?”  She put a restraining hand on his chest.

He tried to rise again, but didn’t even have the strength to bat her hand away.  “We need to get you some help --”

“I’ll be okay.”  Glaring at him, she held him down.  “Don’t change the subject.  What did Amenadiel say?”

For a long moment the Devil looked contemplative as his pained eyes rested on her face.  He opened his mouth, then shut it.  Finally, he looked away and said, “He... he told me that Dad had him... engineer... our meeting -- that Dad had tried to matchmake us.”

Chloe wondered what he had wanted to really say.  Was that truly all it had been?  “That’s all?  That’s what got you so upset?”

Lucifer kept his face averted and said nothing.

Chloe shook her head.  She was having a hard time keeping her thoughts straight.  Matchmaking?  That was hardly anything to get so mad over, was it?  Well, at least she knew now, and could try to mend things.  “Look, Lucifer --”

He turned back to her, concern glimmering in his eyes.  “Detective, you need to take care of yourself.”

That was true -- she felt as though she was going to pass out.  But still, she wanted -- no, needed -- to get things straight between them.  “But --”

He tried to get up again, then fell back with a cry as he squeezed his eyes shut.  “Bloody hell.  I’m useless like this.  You need to go now.”

His words caught her off-guard.  “What?”

“You need to go to the hospital... and I can’t... I can’t take you....”  He shook his head, his eyes still closed.  “Not like this.  I need... to rest.”

Her heart lurched with concern, despite her own condition.  “I can stay --”

“No.  Please.  Get yourself to the doctor.”  When his eyes opened, they were filled with pain.  “Besides, I need space....  Time to think.  It... it hurts to be with you right now.”

She gaped at him.  Her presence hurt him?

“Leave me.”  He glanced at her, then away.  “Please.”

Biting her lower lip until it bled, she nodded, then reached over and squeezed his hand.  When he didn’t respond, she sighed and shuffled out of his room.  Pressing the call button for the elevator, she steadied herself against the wall and listened to the machinery whine until the doors opened.  Once inside, she leaned against the wall, trying hard to stay upright.  Lucifer’s rejection coupled with whatever was wrong with her sapped all of her energy.  When the elevator stopped, she stumbled out into LUX.  The club had closed, for there were only a few custodians cleaning the place.  She took one step -- two -- then collapsed in heap on the floor.  She dimly realized someone was shaking her shoulder and asking if she was okay before she lost consciousness completely.

 

 


	11. In the Hospital

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A super huge thank you to my excellent beta, ScooterThyme! You rock!

 

 

“Leave me.”  Lucifer glanced at Chloe, then away.  “Please.”

When he felt her squeeze his hand, his heart clenched, but he gritted his teeth and didn’t respond.  He watched her shuffle out of his bedroom like a tired old lady, and wanted desperately to leap up and wrap himself around her -- well, if he could have.  She looked terrible, and needed help... help he couldn’t give her.  What could he do?  Bloody hell, he couldn’t even sit up!  He was completely useless like this.  Useless to her.

But what did it matter, anyway?  Just looking at her filled his insides with agony.  Coupled with the terrible pain from his chest wound, he felt like he was dying.  Would she be all right?  He hoped so.  Dad would take care of her, right?  Of course he would.  She was his creation, after all.  Dad’s creation.  All of his anger reared up inside him, burning his insides and leaving nothing but ashes.

His chest wound stabbed him with every breath, but he ignored it.  He was alive.  Alive on Earth, with Chloe.  Chloe, who would not have existed, had it not been for Dad.  Why hadn’t she let him die?  He remembered hearing her voice when he was lost in oblivion, but he couldn’t recall a word she had said.  He had only followed the timbre of her voice back home, until he found himself awake and alive.  But oh, how he wished now that he hadn’t.

He squeezed his eyes shut as a different kind of pain that had nothing to do with his wound shot through him.  How was he ever going to live, knowing she was so close and yet so far away? For he could never be with her now.  Nothing in the world would make him do what dear old Dad wanted.

His mind went back to Chloe’s question about Amenadiel.  He had been so tempted to tell her she was a miracle -- that Amenadiel had blessed her mum -- but he just couldn’t do it.  Even though he was angry with her, he refused to hurt her -- and that knowledge would shake her world to its foundations.  He couldn’t do that to her.  How would she feel, knowing that she should have never even existed?  That she was as much a pawn as he was in this giant chess game that his father was playing?  That she had no free will?

His brow furrowed.  Wait.  Did she know she didn’t have free will?  Or did she know she was a miracle and was just playing him along?  If she had known about all of this, was she as manipulative as dear old Dad?

No.  He couldn’t believe that of her -- he just couldn’t.  The thought hurt too much, so he shoved it out of his head.  He had told her the truth -- that Amenadiel had engineered to get them together.  He just didn’t tell her his brother had done it by bringing her into existence.  Even though he was furious at her apparent collusion with his dad, he couldn’t hurt her in the off-chance that she really had been innocent in all of  this.  No.  He’d never tell her the whole truth.

Content with his decision, he closed his eyes.  Before he knew it, he was asleep.

 

 

________________________________________

 

 

A few hours later, he was awoken by the ding of the elevator.  Had the detective returned?  He couldn’t decide how he felt about it -- his brain hoped not, while his heart soared at the thought.  Gritting his teeth against his stupid emotions, he pulled himself to his feet.  The pain in his chest was still present, but less.  Slinging on a shirt, he stumbled out of his bedroom to see who it was.

_ Mum. _

Great -- just what he needed right now.  Leaning hard on the doorway to his bedroom, he studied the blonde goddess as she approached.  Her hair was up in a bun and she wore an expensive black outfit with a white jacket.  She looked polished, professional, and ready to tackle any heavy task.

“Lucifer!” she called brightly, but faltered when she caught sight of him.  Her mouth dropped open, and a look of concern crossed her face.  “What happened?”

He glanced down at the bandages visible under his open shirt.  Pushing off the wall, he walked toward his mother.  “I was shot, Mum.  Again.”  He sauntered past her and poured himself a drink at the bar.

_ “Again?! _  But -- but you’re immortal -- you can’t be injured!”

He downed his Scotch in one gulp, then shrugged.  “Yes, well, complain to dear old Dad, will you?”  Charlotte opened his shirt to get a better look at his injury, but he batted her hands away and put the bar counter between them.  “What do you want?”

Her eyes drilled into him.  “I want to know how you got hurt.”

Lucifer poured himself another drink.  “Some crazy human tried to shoot me -- several times.”

“But that wasn’t part of the --”  She broke off as her face suddenly transformed into something ugly.  “No one hurts my son.   _ No one.” _  Then the mask came down, and she was the concerned mother once again.  “You shouldn’t be injured --”

He hadn’t been listening, but the last sentence caught his attention.  He whirled on her, a snarl on his face.  “It’s because of the detective!  Is that what you wanted to hear?  The bloody detective makes me mortal!”  He gulped down his drink, then threw the glass against the wall.  The sound of it shattering filled him with a brief sense of satisfaction.

Charlotte’s eyes narrowed at his tone, and then a smirk touched her mouth.  “Well, then, that’s all the more reason to stay away from her, isn’t it?”  She skirted the bar, sidling up next to him to lay a hand on his shoulder.  “Amenadiel told me how he had blessed Chloe’s mother.  Your precious detective was created by your father.”

Just hearing it hurt.  Lucifer winced and pulled away from his mother’s touch.

“He threw her into your path.”  She leaned over and tried to catch his eye.  “Doesn’t that make you angry?  Your father is still trying to control you -- telling you what to do, who to see, who to care for --”

Without a word, he walked away and sat at his piano, staring at the teddy bear sitting on top of it.

“Doesn’t that make you burn for revenge?” she asked, following him.  Her voice dropped down to a seductive purr as she spoke in his ear.  “Come on, son.  Come with your brother and me.  You can go up to Heaven and give your father a piece of your mind.”  When he said nothing, she stared at him in shock.  “You... you can’t possibly still have feelings for that human?!  Not after what you know now?  She’s your father’s tool!  She makes you mortal!”

He sighed.  When he spoke, his voice was tired, bitter.  “Leave me alone, Mother.”

Charlotte straightened and frowned.  “Well, at least tell me you’ll think about it.”

Lucifer nodded.  “Fine, I’ll think about it.  Now please... go.”

After she left, he picked up the teddy bear and studied it.  Chloe and Trixie had given it to him, to show him how important he was to them....  Feelings of betrayal welled up at him, whipping up his fury.  Gripping the stuffed toy tightly in one hand, he drew back his arm to throw it across the room... then hesitated.  This was Chloe’s gift to him, and no matter how angry he was, he couldn’t destroy it.  He pulled it close to him, hugging the bear with everything he had as his heart thumped out a mournful beat.  He held it for a long time... and if a few tears happened to wet its brown fur, well... that was just between Lucifer and the bear.

 

 

________________________________________

 

 

Chloe ended up in the hospital.

She didn’t remember much when she collapsed at LUX -- unfamiliar, concerned faces, then a light shining in her eye as the paramedics swarmed around her.  The soft vibration under her and the shrill siren screaming its displeasure as the ambulance drove her to the hospital.  The muted sound of a woman rattling off numbers and trying to talk to her when all she wanted to do was sleep.

The images at the emergency room were just a vague set of impressions -- everything white, with lots of people bustling about.  They poked and prodded her when her head was pounding and it was so damned cold....  The sheets lying on her suddenly transformed into snow-capped mountains that she had to climb, and she clawed at them.  She had to get to the top!  And then everything went gray and oblivion took over.

The next time Chloe opened her eyes, she was in a private room.  Sunlight filtered in through the window, making her surroundings look far more cheery than they were.  The sound of constant beeping annoyed her, and she wished it would just stop.  There was pressure on her index finger where the O2 saturation instrument pinched her.  And tubes everywhere... she felt like she was in a jungle of tubes.

A nurse came in to take her vitals and asked if there was anyone they could call for her.  Her first thought was Lucifer -- but then she remembered how he hadn’t wanted to be anywhere near her.  Her heart took a nosedive as depression swamped her.  What about Dan?  No... not now.  Maze?  Yes.  She needed to tell her that Lucifer was okay.  After giving the nurse the demon’s phone number, she closed her eyes.

When she opened them again an hour later, Maze and Trixie were sitting next to her in chairs pulled up by her bedside.  As soon as her daughter saw that she was awake, she crawled into bed with her and bawled her eyes out.  Chloe held onto her tightly, feeling the urge to weep as well, but she forced it back.  Trixie could cry for the both of them.

“You should have listened to me about going to the hospital,” Maze said with a curled lip, but her eyes were full of worry.  “You could have died.”

Chloe gave a weak chuckle.  “I’ll listen to you next time.”

Trixie looked up at her mother as she wiped the tears from her eyes with the back of her hand.  “What happened to you, Mommy?”

“I got shot by a bad man, and lost a little too much blood.  The doctors are giving me blood and medicine, so I’m okay, but I’ll have to stay here for a few days.”  She glanced up at Maze.  “Lucifer is okay.”

The demon started with surprise, then looked around.  “Well then, where is he?”

“At the penthouse, I guess.”

“What the hell is he doing there?”

The blonde woman looked away.  “You’ll have to ask him.”  Maze was silent so long that she turned to look at her in surprise.  The demon’s eyes were narrowed, and she had a bitter twist to her lips.  “What?” Chloe asked.

“I’m going to go talk to that idiot, and then I’m going to follow up on some leads on the bastard who did this to you.  No one gets to hurt you but  _ me!” _

“Don’t do anything illegal --”  But Chloe’s cry came too late.  The demon had already stormed out of the room.

The blonde detective stared after her for a long moment before sighing.  Although she was a cop, she wouldn’t mind if the demon tortured the gunman before turning him into the police.  Sometimes it was handy having a demon for a roommate.  Now if only Lucifer would come and see her... but she doubted that would happen.  Still, she figured if anyone could get him to come, it would be Maze.  Shutting her eyes, she held Trixie close and hoped that the Devil would pay her a visit.

 

 

________________________________________

 

 

“Lucifer!”

The Devil turned at the sound of his name, his eyes lighting up when he saw his demon weaving through the patrons on the dance floor of LUX.  Excusing himself from his bartender and the group of liquor distributors, he made his way to her.

“Maze, what brings you here?”  Lucifer was surprised, for she looked simply furious, making him wonder what had happened.  It was rare to see such blood lust in her eyes.  “Maze?”

“Why are you here?”

“Pardon me?”

_ “Why are you here?” _  Maze grabbed his arm and dragged him to a more quiet part of the club.  “Chloe is in the hospital.  Why aren’t you with her?”

“What?!”  Panic filled him, spurring his heart to beat like a trapped bird in his chest.  The blood drained from his face as he stared at his demon in shock.  Then his hands were around her upper arms like tight bands as he pulled her close and snapped, “What happened?”

Maze twisted out of his grip.  “She was shot by the bastard who shot you and ended up in the hospital from losing too much blood.”

No no nononono --

Bloody hell, he knew she had been shot and hadn’t looked well!  He should have gotten her to the hospital himself.  Or called 911.  Or something.  This was all his fault!  He cursed himself for being a bloody fool.  He was an idiot.  “Is she all right?”

“Lucifer --”

_ “Is she?!” _

The demon nodded.  “She’ll be okay.  They’re keeping her for a few days.”

He sagged with relief before fury ripped through him.  He’d find that gunman and tear him limb from limb --

The demon grabbed his arm and gave him a little shake.  “You need to go to her.”

Lucifer froze, suddenly swamped with indecision.  He desperately wanted to see Chloe, but... she was Dad’s tool.  He didn’t know what to do.  His heart screamed at him to go, but his brain kept whispering that she had betrayed him.  Lied to him.  “I....”

Maze squinted at him.  “What the hell’s wrong with you?  Go to her!”

His eyes slid away from hers, unable to hold her gaze.  “There... there are things you don’t know.”

“Like what?”

“The detective....”  He took a deep breath.  “Amenadiel saw her mum thirty-five years ago.  Blessed her.  The detective is Dad’s creation -- a miracle.  Her mum wasn’t ever supposed to have children.  Dad... threw her in my path.”

Maze gaped at him.   _ “What?” _

Lucifer turned his eyes to the ceiling of the club.  “I feel... betrayed.  Did she know?  Or was she a pawn, just like me?  Bloody hell, why can’t Dad leave me alone?”  He turned to his demon, his eyes aglow like embers.  “And what am I supposed to do now?  Did I really love her, or was it all just feelings engendered because of her duplicity?  Did she ever really love me?  Or was it all just a game?”

For a long moment the demon was silent as Lucifer shut his eyes and got his emotions under control.  Finally she said, “Look, I don’t know about any of this stuff, and I don’t care.  All I know is that Chloe risked her life for you.  She could have gone to the hospital, but she didn’t want you to go to Hell, so she stayed with you.  She’s the reason you’re here.  You need to go see her, if only for that.  She’s at Cedars-Sinai.”

Turning on her heel, Maze left Lucifer alone with his thoughts.

 

 

________________________________________

 

 

Lucifer ended up going to see Chloe, although he was careful not to let her know.  Right after Maze left, he drove like a speeding maniac to the hospital and found out where she was located.  Then he tracked down her doctor and made sure she would get the best medical treatment available.  Afterwards, he went to the floor she was on and hung around like a stalker, constantly asking the nurses for updates on her condition, until visiting hours were over.

It was easy to slip into her room when she slept.  Taking one of the chairs next to her, he sat and brushed her hair from her forehead.  She looked so beautiful, so innocent, and his heart clenched at the sight of her.

“I’m so sorry, my dear,” he whispered.  “This is all my fault.  I should have made sure you got to the hospital safely....”

His fault.  All his fault.

He couldn’t seem to do anything right, not even getting Chloe the help she needed when he knew she was hurt.   _ Idiot. _  Regret washed through him, and he wished he could kick himself to Hell and back.  And yet why should he care?  She was Dad’s tool!  But he did -- it was a mystery to him, but he did.

How he wanted to go back in time a few days, before Amenadiel had shattered his world, so that he could....  Could what?  He didn’t even know.  If only there was some way he could forget what Amenadiel had told him....  But no.  He could never forget.

He leaned forward and kissed her forehead.  “Get better, Detective.  I can’t imagine a world without you in it.”

_ Even if we’ll never be together. _

Sighing, he made himself as comfortable as he could in the chair and sat out the night with her, just content to study her sleeping face.  Whenever the nurses came in to rouse her and take her vitals, he went outside and waited until she fell back asleep.

When morning came, he haunted the halls, pestering the doctors and nurses to make sure she got the very best care.  Staying out of sight from her family and friends, he only returned to her room at night, until the day she was released.  On that morning, he hid himself outside and watched from afar as Maze pulled up the car and the attendant brought Chloe down to the curb in a wheelchair.  When he was assured she was in good hands, he took himself home.

There.  His duty was done.  He didn’t have to see her anymore.  She was as well as could be, and now he could go on his merry way, thumbing his nose at dear old Dad and living his life the way he wanted.  So why did his heart cry unhappily at the thought?  Why did his insides feel like a barren wasteland?  He didn’t know.  He only knew that he had fallen into a great, gaping abyss from which he could never escape.

 

 


	12. Talk with Amenadiel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A super-huge thank you to my excellent beta, ScooterThyme! You rock!

 

 

Hope died a hard death.

While she recovered in the hospital, Chloe waited for Lucifer.  Sometimes she would wake up in the morning and smell his cologne... but of course that was all just her imagination.  She would dream of him, too -- of him sitting next to her in the darkness, holding her hand or stroking her hair, and whispering for her to get well.  Those dreams felt so real....  But in the harsh light of day, she could see that that had been all it was -- a dream.  An illusion.  He never came.

Ella and Dan stopped by every day, which was nice, but not who she yearned to see.  Maze came with Trixie, which surprised Chloe, for she thought the bounty hunter was going to find the perpetrator who had shot Lucifer and her.

“He’s dead,” Maze said bluntly when Chloe finally asked her about it as they drove home from the hospital.  “And not by my hand.”

“What happened?”

“I tracked the guy to a high-rise, but got there too late.  The police were already there.  Looks like he committed suicide by throwing himself off the roof.  They called in Lucifer, who identified him as the one who shot you both.”

Normally any death was upsetting to her, but in this case she felt relief at the news.  At least Lucifer was safe now, although now they would never know why the man had been targeting her partner.  A sharp pain stabbed Chloe’s heart at the mere mention of his name.  Trying to get rid of the sudden lump in her throat, she swallowed hard.  “Is he....  How is he?”

“Lucifer, you mean?  He’s being an idiot,” was all Maze said.

An idiot... which meant he was still angry.  Still, Chloe waited to see if he would come visit her.  She wanted so badly to see him, to make sure his injury had healed.  Oh, who the hell was she kidding?  She wanted to talk to him, hear his lovely lilting voice, see those dark eyes grow bright with mischief, feel his arms around her....  She missed him so much that she heard his voice even when he wasn’t there, and sometimes when she saw a tall figure walking around, she thought it was him.

She tried desperately to get in contact with him.  He never returned her calls or texts -- she only got voicemail.  He was ghosting her, and it felt as if he had plunged a knife in her heart.  A few times she considered driving to his penthouse to confront him head on, but then she would remember how he had wanted space....  So after a while she stopped trying, although it killed her to do so.

The department let her have ten days of sick leave after she left the hospital, but it didn’t help her heartbreak.  She became a shadow of her former self.  Physically she was much better, although she would have to take painkillers for a while, but her soul had shriveled up and died.

Still, her detective mind really wanted to know why Lucifer had suddenly grown so angry at her.  It didn’t make any sense.  One day they were in love, the next day, he hated her -- or seemed to.  Amenadiel was the key to the whole mystery -- it was his discussion with Lucifer that triggered the earthquake that had destroyed her world, and she had every intention of talking with him.

She asked Maze to set up a meeting for her.

“Why?” the demon asked, practically spitting with rage.  “The guy has done nothing but make Lucifer miserable lately.  There’s no reason for you to go see him.”

Chloe shook her head.  “There’s every reason.  He told Lucifer something that turned him against me, and I need to find out what it is.  He said that Amenadiel was playing matchmaker, but I get the feeling it was much more than that.”

Maze’s mouth tightened.  “Don’t go.  It’s not worth it.  You’ll just get hurt.”

“Hurt?” The detective’s eyebrows lifted and she cocked her head at her roommate. “What do you know?  What are you not telling me?”

The demon shook her head.  “Look, it’s just that Amenadiel is trouble, especially lately now that....”

“Yes?”

Maze bit her lower lip.  “It’s not important.  Just... leave it alone.  Lucifer will come around, eventually.”

Chloe felt frustration welling up inside her.  “I can’t.  Something happened and I need to know what it is.”  She stared hard at the demon, her eyes pleading.  “Please.”

Baring her teeth, the bounty hunter looked her up and down, then crossed her arms in front of her.  “Fine.  Fine, but you’re acting like a stupid human.”

She nodded.  “I know.”

“I’ll set up a meeting for you -- somewhere public.  Best to be somewhere neutral -- maybe the Starbucks around the corner.  And I’ll be around, in case you need me.”

Chloe gave her a grateful smile.  “Thank you, Maze.”

The demon hissed to herself.  “Soft.  I’m getting as soft as Lucifer....”

 

 

________________________________________

 

 

Chloe met Amenadiel at the local Starbucks the next morning.  The shop wasn’t as crowded as it could have been, for the breakfast people were leaving and the lunch crowd had not yet arrived.  Chloe bought herself a regular coffee and made herself comfortable at a table in the corner, away from prying eyes.  Glancing out the window at the passing cars on the street, her eyes searched for Maze, but didn’t see her.  Chloe felt glad that the demon had agreed to be there. She was grateful for the support, in case there was trouble -- with her arm in a sling, she wasn’t as mobile as she would have liked.

The burly angel came a few minutes later, dressed in a leather jacket, a slouchy knitted cap, jeans and a tee shirt.  Very different from Lucifer, who always went everywhere in a suit, looking polished and debonair.  Amenadiel sat down across from her, setting his caffe latte on the table.

“You wanted to see me?” he asked.

“Yes, I did.”  Chloe leaned forward and looked deep into Amenadiel’s eyes.  “I want to know what you told Lucifer to turn him against me.”

The angel raised an eyebrow at her, his eyes dispassionate and his expression unreadable.  “Luci didn’t tell you?”

“He said you had matchmade us, engineered us to meet -- but I have the feeling there’s more to it than that.  Is there?”

Amenadiel shifted his weight in the chair and gazed out the window for a long while. When he turned back to Chloe, he tilted his head and pursed his lips.  “Tell me, Chloe, why do you care for Lucifer?”

She blinked at him.  “Excuse me?”

He leaned forward on his elbows and laced his fingers together before resting his chin against his hands.  “Lucifer is the Devil.  You know that.  Why do you care about him?  I mean, really, Chloe, your life would be so much better without him.”

A flush ran through Chloe’s body, turning her cheeks red as her heartbeat sped up.  She took a deep breath and clenched her teeth.  “You’re wrong,” she ground out.  “He’s made my life better.”

“How?” Amenadiel’s eybrows furrowed.  “He’s selfish, conceited, arrogant, childish... how does he make your life better?  I’d think he’d just give you a headache --”

“Do you even know him at all?”  Indignation burned through her.  “Sure, he’s all those things, but deep in his heart, he’s a good man.  Why do you hate him so much?”

The angel looked stunned at her attack.  “I don’t hate him.”

“Oh?  You could have fooled me.  You’re constantly telling him he’s the Devil --”

“Because he is!”

“-- and calling him Evil Incarnate.”  Running a hand through her hair, Chloe struggled to calm down and get her rage in check.  “He is nothing of the sort.  I want to know why you resent him so much.  He’s your brother.”

Amenadiel leaned back in his chair and looked away.  He gave a little laugh that sounded forced to Chloe’s ears.  “Okay, yeah, I resent him a little.  I mean, who wouldn’t?  He gets to do anything he wants.  Leave his responsibilities behind and go on vacation?  What the hell, why not.  He’s Father’s favorite, even though he’s been cast into Hell.  Father does all these things just for Lucifer, but does he do it for the rest of us?  No.”

“And does that give you the right to call him Evil Incarnate?  To vilify him to the world?”

“That was Father’s doing --”

“Which you are perpetuating!”  Chloe’s raised voice caused some heads to turn.  Glancing at the people looking at her, she lowered her voice.  “You’re jealous of him.”

“Okay, sure.  Yes, I’m jealous.  But what right does Luci have to get everything he wants? To get Father’s attention?  I’m the oldest, I do everything that Father wants me to -- all I want is his approval.  But do I get anything?  Any praise?  Any acknowledgement?  No.  I get stripped of my angelic powers.  How fair is that?”

“Fair?   _ Fair?” _  Chloe stared at the angel, her mouth agog at his question.  “Are you serious?”  She leaned back in her chair and struggled to keep her temper.  “You want to talk about fair?  How about getting thrown into Hell?  How about getting all your flesh burned off and living in constant pain because you upset your father?  Has that ever happened to you?”

Her vehemence must have shocked the angel, for he stared at her in surprise.  “Well, no, but that’s because --”

“Have you ever been told by your family and the world surrounding you that you were evil?  And not just once, but over and over and over for centuries?  Millennia?”  Chloe’s eyes narrowed as she glared at Amenadiel.  “Did you know what kind of damage you’ve done to Lucifer?  He hates himself --  _ hates himself  _ \-- because of you and your father and your whole fricking family.  Because of the whole fricking world. He sees himself as a monster.   _ Is that fair?!” _

“Chloe --”

“But no.  You can’t see the forest for the trees.  You’re completely blind to how much your brother has suffered because you’re jealous and petty!”

Amenadiel had the good grace to look shamefaced.

“All Lucifer wants is a little happiness.  After all the years of torment and suffering, is that too much to ask?  Can’t you just give him that?  Or are you such a selfish bastard that you have to strip that from him, as well?”

Biting his lower lip, the angel looked out the window and hunched his shoulders.  When he looked back at Chloe, his face was full of surprise and puzzlement.  “You... you really love my brother, don’t you?”

She was tempted to scream at him,  _ Of course -- are you blind?! _ but managed to hold her tongue.  In the most calmest voice she could muster, she said, “Yes, I do.”

He nodded.  “Okay.  Look, I’m sorry for telling Lucifer -- well, things.”

She stared hard at him.  “What did you tell him?”

Amenadiel gazed at her, a considering look on his face.  “Just what he told you,” he finally said.  “Father asked me to matchmake you.  Lucifer doesn’t like not being in control -- it’s why he’s so angry.”

Chloe felt the anger slowly leave her.  “I... see.”

He shifted in his seat, then leaned forward.  “Look, Chloe, I can’t tell you who to love, or not love.  I get that you have feelings for Lucifer. But you have to realize he’s not the puppy dog you seem to think he is.  He’s a wolf with fangs... and someday he will turn around and tear your face off.  I just wanted to save you future pain.”

“Thank you, but I can take care of myself,” she said with a lift of her chin.  She knew Lucifer would never harm her, for she knew his heart better than his brother.  Her Devil was a good man, and she trusted him completely.

He bowed his head.  “Understood.  Just be careful.”  With that, the angel finished his drink in one long gulp, then rose to his feet and walked away.

“Amenadiel,” she called after him.  He turned at the sound of her voice.  “Thank you for meeting me.”

He nodded and left.  Although Chloe had really not learned anything new, she felt as if she had left Amenadiel with a better understanding of his brother.  Even if she couldn’t see Lucifer, she could at least help him in this small way.

 

 


	13. A Pair of Stories

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A super-huge thank you to my excellent beta, ScooterThyme! You make my work shine!

 

 

Beep.  Beep.  Beep.

The bloody incessant beeping was what pulled Lucifer out of the gray fog in which he had been drifting.  Annoying, really, how it would not let him rest.  He became aware of other things -- the hint of antiseptic tickled his nose, and the bed felt unfamiliar and uncomfortable.  Rough sheets lay on top of him, a strange cold sensation ran up his left arm, and a tightness squeezed his chest.  Not only that, but he had the disturbing feeling that something was lying beside him.

He thought for a moment.  The last thing he remembered was getting shot while on a case with his detective.  They had been investigating an old warehouse when he saw their suspect point a gun at his unsuspecting partner.  There had been no time to do anything but shove her out of the way as he took the bullet meant for her.  He remembered lying on the cold concrete floor, staring up at his detective as she crouched beside him and shot the suspect.  And then she was leaning over him, putting pressure on his chest, whispering to him, “Stay, stay,” as tears fell from her eyes.

“I... I’m not a d-dog, Detective,” he had joked.  It was distressing to see her cry -- it wasn’t right.  She shouldn’t cry for him.  He tried to tell her everything was all right, but couldn’t make his mouth work right.  And it seemed hard to breathe.  At least there was no pain -- he merely watched himself bleed out, and then... nothing.

And now... now he was here.  But where was here, exactly?  Not Hell -- not hot enough.  And certainly not Heaven -- Dad would never allow him back in.  Which left... Earth?  He slowly opened his eyes....

... and found himself face to face with a giant, furry creature in bed next to him -- certainly a more terrifying beast than anything he had ever faced in Hell.

He screamed.  He couldn’t help it.  Giggles erupted on the other side of him and his head whipped around to see his detective and her daughter sitting beside his hospital bed, their eyes filled with amusement.

Bloody hell, what was going on?  Why were they laughing when a gigantic creature -- obviously a threatening one if it was in bed with him -- was getting ready to pounce on him?

He slowly turned to face the bloody monster, his heart pounding... then blinked.  The creature was still looking at him with its big, dead eyes... and that’s when he realized it was because it  _ was _ dead.  The monstrous thing was a stuffed toy.  A giant teddy bear, in fact.  Nay, a  _ man _ -sized teddy bear, for the plushy thing was as tall as he was, and hogging most of the bed, as well.

The tension left his body and he sagged as he shut his eyes and breathed a sigh of relief.

The little child laughed and clapped her hands.  “You’re so funny, Lucifer!”

He gave her a baleful stare.  “Yes, well, it’s not every day one wakes up next to a giant plushy toy.”

“You’re important to us, so we brought you a teddy bear,” the detective said with a tender smile.  “Its size symbolizes just how much.”

Giggling, the little girl leaped out of her chair to lean over the bed and give him a big hug.  “I’m so glad you’re okay!”

 

 

________________________________________

 

 

“I’m glad you’re okay too, Mommy,” Trixie interrupted.  “It was scary to see you hurt.”

“I know, baby, and I’m sorry.”  Chloe looked up from the tablet from which she had been reading aloud.  She tried to smile at her daughter in bed.  “But I’m okay now.”

It was her last night before she went back to work.  She wasn’t looking forward to it.  The precinct would seem so strange and empty, without Lucifer’s presence.  Taking a deep breath, she squared her shoulders.  Well, that was just something she was going to have to get used to.  She doubted that Lucifer would want to be her partner anymore.

Seeing Chloe’s sad eyes, the little girl squeezed her mother’s hand.  “Is Lucifer still mad at you, Mommy?”

“I don’t know.”  She squeezed the tiny hand back.  “I... I think so.”

Trixie looked cross as she folded her arms across her chest.  “He shouldn’t be such a jerk.  I don’t like him hurting you.”

“I know.”  Chloe sighed and shook her head.  “He’s... going through something.  Some sort of crisis.  We... we have to be more understanding.”

“Well, I’m still mad.”  Trixie squinted up at her mother, hope on her face.  “Can you go see him and find out if he’s better?  Maybe everything’s okay, now.”

Chloe’s heart plummeted in her chest.  “I... I can’t.”

“Why not?”

It pained her to say it.  “I... I just don’t think it’s a good idea.”

Trixie’s brows furrowed and she cocked her head.  “Why?  You love him --”

She did not want to talk about this now -- it hurt too much.  “It’s complicated, monkey.”

They sat in silence for a few minutes before the little girl snuggled deeper under the covers.  “Did Lucifer really write this story for me?”

“He did.  Wasn’t that nice?”

“Uh huh.  Was that before things got complicated?”

Chloe gave a sad chuckle.  “Yes, before.”

Trixie peered up at her mother.  “Did he write one for you too?”

She smiled crookedly.  He  _ had _ written for her -- so many stories.  She was glad she still had his writings.  If the loneliness got too bad, she could pull them out and insert herself into them -- especially the Lightbringer1 ones... and maybe an erotic PrinceLuci666 tale or two... or three....  Shocked at her errant thoughts, Chloe’s cheeks burned a fiery red.  Trying to control her blush, she cleared her throat.  “Uh, yes.  He did.”

Trixie squinted up at her.  “Why are you getting red?”  She suddenly brightened.  “Can you read them to me?”

Oh god.   _ No. _  No no nononono --

“He’s written some really romantic pieces,” she said, scrambling to think of a Lightbringer1 story she could read instead.  “You know, all hearts and mushy stuff --”

Trixie grinned.  “And naked people?”

Chloe was horrified.   _ “What?!” _

“Maze says that when things get all mushy, people get naked and then they --”

“Time for bed, you little weasel!” Chloe interrupted as she started tucking Trixie in.  Dear lord, she was going to have to have a talk with that demon roommate of hers!

“Awww, but you haven’t finished the story!”

“Tomorrow.  We can finish it tomorrow.”

“Have you written anything for Lucifer?” the little girl asked after she was all tucked in.

The question caught Chloe off-guard.  “What?”

“Have you written anything for Lucifer?” she asked again.  “If he’s written a story for you, then you should write one for him.  Maybe it will help him with his crisis.”

Oh dear.  Chloe looked nervously at her daughter.  She wasn’t a writer.  How could she possibly write him a story?  And would he even want to read it?  “Trixie --”

“It’s only fair,” she said with a nod of her head.

“We’re not....”  The blonde detective faltered.  What could she say?  Trixie had a point.  “I’ll see what I can do, so you go to sleep, okay?  You have school tomorrow.”

After she left Trixie’s room, Chloe sighed and looked down at the tablet in her hands.  Could she write Lucifer a story?  What would she even say to him?  He probably wouldn’t even read it, for hadn’t he cut her off completely...?

His rejection still hurt, like a knife wound that bled constantly, except instead of blood spilling from her, it was her soul.  Her life.  Her very essence.  At this rate, she would just be a shell merely going through the motions of life.  She couldn’t have that -- it wasn’t fair for Trixie.  For her daughter’s sake, she had to stop the hemorrhaging.

She had to let Lucifer go.

Just the thought was painful, but she had to do it.  It was the only way she could survive.  Clutching the tablet hard, she climbed the stairs to her bedroom, made herself comfortable on her bed, and began to write.

 

 

________________________________________

 

 

When I was seven, I used to ask my father if I would ever find true love.

“Little Monkey,” he’d say to me, “there’s a match made in Heaven just for you.”

And I believed him.  I was seven -- what did I know?  I loved fairy tales where the prince would come to save the day, fall in love with the beautiful princess, and they would live happily ever after.  I wished every night upon the first star I saw that my prince would come.

But as I grew older, I tucked that dream away in the back of my mind.  Life has a way of taking wishes and grinding them underfoot, you see.  That soft, dreamy seven year old evolved into a tough, no nonsense teenager.  I tried to become like my mother, but... well, that didn’t go very well.  And then my father was killed, and my world was shot to hell.  Everything ended the night I heard that he had been murdered, and my life changed drastically.

So I followed in my father’s footsteps instead, striving to become as good a cop as he was, and hoping that wherever he was, he was proud of me.

I became tougher.  I had to.  You can’t have a soft heart when you’re with the police department. All that death and dying surrounding you?  No.  You have to build a hard shell on your exterior and walls around your heart, or you won’t survive.  Trust me -- this I know.

But despite the tough exterior, I somehow managed to fall in love.  I met a man whom I thought was The One.  We had a wonderful child, and started a beautiful life together.   The seven year old girl inside of me, the one who had never forgotten her dreams, thought that maybe my father had found my match made in Heaven, and sent him down to me.

But I was wrong.

As the years went by, things went south -- way south.  My marriage fell apart, my career hit an all-time low.  The only good thing in my life was my daughter -- my saving grace.  She kept me going, showing me that there was still good in this world.  She kept the hope burning inside of me that perhaps, some day, I’d have that match made in Heaven.

And then one day  _ he _ came along.

He called himself the Devil.  I’ll never forget the night I first met him.  He was playing the piano in his nightclub -- a drop-dead gorgeous playboy.  The epitome of cool, oozing sensuality and charisma.  I didn’t like him.  I couldn’t stand him, actually -- all that arrogant charm was quite repulsive, like, on a chemical level.  He was rude, smarmy, childish, selfish, a smart-ass....  Oh, so many things.  He rubbed me the wrong way, and more than once I wanted to shoot him.  Yet, there was something about him... something underneath that wicked veneer that was gentle and kind.  I could see that.  On top of that, he saved my life when he could have just as easily walked away.  But he held me as I lay there, bleeding on the floor, and told me that he wouldn’t let me die.

We ended up working together.  It took a long time for me to get used to his strange rants against his dad, his odd behavior, his insistence that he was the Devil.  But he was a good partner, and he helped me see things from a different angle.  He was like a breath of fresh air -- he made me a better detective.

Time passed, and I began to see what a good man my Devil was, under the childish, smarmy exterior.  There was a nobility in his character, for he never lied.  He had honor -- something rare these days.  And he was chivalrous, like a knight of old, for he was kind to my daughter, and to me.  He always put my needs ahead of his own, and undertook tremendous sacrifices for my sake.  Coupled with his gallantry was a sensitive side, although he tried hard to hide it under a thick layer of self-centeredness.  And at times, he was a little awkward, a little dorky, and one hundred percent adorable.  He made me laugh.

There were things about him that filled me with sadness, too.  He was convinced that the world saw him as a monster, as an evil man, as the Devil.  When he spoke of his manipulative father, his eyes would fill with pain and sorrow.  He had horrific scars, both inside and out, and they pained him deeply.  He felt things keenly, my Devil, and my heart bled for him.

I tried to help him, but he always pushed me away.  That hurt, but he was my partner and I kept trying to find a connection with him.  I trusted him.  We became friends... and over time, I fell in love with him.

I know, you’re laughing at me now.  What a fool, you’re saying.  I called myself a fool, too.  I was scared.  He was a playboy, sleeping with a number of gorgeous women every night.  Why would he even look at a tired, stressed-out detective with a child?  But he did.  He looked into my eyes and told me I was perfect.

Do you know how touched I was when he told me that?  For he was sincere when he said it.  He made me feel young... desirable... like the world was new.  Like  _ I _ was new.  It was the most beautiful gift anyone could have ever given me.  He had renewed my dreams.  With him, I saw a beautiful future.

I thought I had finally found my happily-ever-after.  I knew that this time it would be different.  He was wonderful.  My heart sang when I was with him.  For so long my soul had lain dormant -- so dormant I thought it was dead -- but he brought me back out of the shadows and breathed life back into me.  I loved him with everything I had.  Everything I was.  I truly believed he was my match made in Heaven -- my one true love.

But good things never last, do they?

His brother told him that he had somehow engineered us to meet, at the request of his father.  Tried to matchmake us.  Of course there was no guarantee that we would have fallen in love, but my Devil didn’t see it that way.  He was angry at his manipulative father -- and why not?  I would have been angry too, had my father tried to matchmake me without my knowledge or consent.  But my Devil couldn’t see that my feelings were my own -- he thought I was working with his father to force him to have feelings for me.  He couldn’t see that I loved him... and so he spurned me.

I couldn’t understand.  I tried to talk to him, but he wouldn’t return any of my calls.  He just rejected me.  It hurt terribly.  I wept into my pillow and asked my father -- wherever he was -- why he had lied to me.  A match made in Heaven?  It didn’t exist.  My heart was shattered.

And yet I still loved my Devil... and I wanted him to find true happiness.  After thinking about what was best for him, I finally realized that he would never find that happiness with me.  He could never be happy with me, for he’d only ever see me as his father’s tool.  Our love was over before it even began.  He will never love me the way I love him.

So, Lucifer, if you’re reading this, you don’t have to worry -- I get it.  And you’re right -- I’m not the one for you... so I’m letting you go.  All I want is your happiness.  Find someone who will make your heart sing... someone you feel you can trust.  Someone who isn’t me.

Goodbye.

 

 


	14. Reading Chloe's Gift

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A super-huge thank you to my excellent beta, ScooterThyme! You rock!

 

 

On the first day that Chloe returned to work, Lucifer went to the precinct.

He had known she was coming in -- in fact, he had been keeping tabs on her progress through Lieutenant Monroe.  Of course it wasn’t nearly as good as asking Maze for information, or just visiting Chloe, but he couldn’t bring himself to do either one of those things.  His demon looked ready to kill him, and as for the detective... well, there was no way he could bring himself to face her.

Carefully making his way through the station, he peeked around a corner and spotted her working at her desk.  His breath caught at the sight of her, even though her shoulders were hunched, her posture slumped, and her face pinched and pale.  

His heart thumped painfully in his chest as he spied on her.  He just couldn’t understand what he felt when he looked at her.  Why did he feel so empty and miserable when she was the one who had been colluding with Dad?  He had been betrayed by her, after all.  All the feelings she felt were lies... none of it was real.  He should be furiously angry.  So why did he feel so hollow inside?  Why did his heart still thump faster when he caught sight of her?  He shouldn’t feel anything.  Why couldn’t he stay away from her?  He didn’t understand it.

He ducked back behind the corner when she suddenly rose to her feet, a file in hand.  Very carefully, he spied on her from his hiding place and watched her walk away, toward the records room.  Turning around, he leaned his back against the wall and let out a heavy sigh.  Mooning over someone who had betrayed him in the worst way -- he was pathetic.

Closing his eyes, he thought about Chloe.  Even though he was angry, he missed her so much.  His insides felt as if a black hole had taken lodgings in the vicinity of his heart, and was sucking his soul dry.  It wasn’t that long ago that he was peering around the very same corner, wondering how he could ask her on a date....  But those days were gone, never to return.  He’d never have anyone to love him, nor could he trust that anyone he met from now on hadn’t been sent by dear old Dad.  He would be alone forever.

A whack on his arm had his eyes flying open.  Had Chloe discovered him?  His heart skipped a beat as he turned to look at who had hit him.  Ella.  He let out a sigh of relief.  Just Ella -- nothing to worry about.

Well, maybe he had thought that too soon, for the lab tech grabbed his arm and dragged him to her office.  In a move that was strangely reminiscent of Chloe, she tossed him into the room and slammed the door shut, locking it behind her.  Lucifer watched her with wary eyes.  She looked... scary.

“What the hell, Lucifer?  I mean, oh my god!”

He covered one ear and winced.  “Please, stop talking about Dad.  I’ve had more than I could stomach from that wanker.”

For a moment the dark haired woman stared at him, before yanking up a file and beating him on the back with it.  “You stupid man!  You stupid, stupid man!”

Lucifer didn’t know what to do.  He’d never been faced with Ella as a harridan before.  He cowered as he dashed around the table, trying to escape her.  “Bloody hell, what is wrong with you?”

Seething with fury, the dark-haired woman glared at him with all the fire of a volcano.  “You make me so mad!”  She stalked him around the table, waving the file threateningly.

Confused, Lucifer tried his best to keep the table between him and Ella.  As he backed away, he held up his hands beseechingly.  “At least tell me why you’re so angry!”

She paused.  “You -- you don’t know...?”  Then her eyes narrowed and she lifted the file over her head in order to bash him with it.  “Of course you know, you -- you --”

“Wait, wait, wait, wait!” he cried.  “Please!  I don’t understand --”

The lab tech paused.  “What don’t you understand?  You dumped Chloe!”

Lucifer felt the blood rush from his face.  “You... you know?  She told you?”

Ella lowered the file and glared at him.  “Haven’t you been on AO3 today?”

He blinked, confused at the sudden change of subject.  “What does that have to do with the detective?”

“She gifted you a story!”

What was this sudden warmth shooting through him?  He struggled to push the odd feeling aside.  “She did?”

Shaking her head with disgust, Ella went to the computer and pulled up the AO3 website.  Clicking on a story near the top of the Lucifer fandom page, she opened it up, then gestured to her chair with a flourish.  “Take a seat and read your gift, Lightbringer1.  Then we’ll talk.”

Glancing at her suspiciously lest she start beating him with the file again, Lucifer cautiously sat down in the chair and turned to the story, titled, “Letting Go.”  The title filled him with unease, but he leaned forward and started reading.  It wasn’t long, so he finished it in a matter of minutes.  When he was done, he leaned back against the chair in shock and stared at the screen.

_Goodbye._

He couldn’t grasp what he had read, so he read it again.  No, the ending remained the same.  She said goodbye.  She was releasing him.  But... that didn’t make sense.  Shouldn’t she be trying hard to hang onto him, if she cared as much as she said she did?  She had written that she wanted him to find happiness.  Wait.  She said... she had said she _loved_ him.

Turning to Ella, he pointed at the screen and opened his mouth to say... what?  He wasn’t even sure, so he shut it without saying a word.  Gazing once again at the screen, his eyes focused on one part of the story.  She had written that her heart was shattered.

Why should that make his stomach churn violently, or make him so lightheaded that he thought he would pass out?  Why should that make him feel like he had just been sentenced to Hell?  Massaging the back of his neck, he looked at Ella.

“I... I don’t....”

“How could you do such a thing, Lucifer?” Ella spat.  “Dumping Chloe because you think your dad matchmade you?  Are you insane?”

Lucifer scrambled to defend himself.  “Well --”

“Dude, I was the one who told you she was your OTP -- your One True Pairing.  Don’t you remember?”

“You -- you’re in this with Dad, too?” he cried, horrified.  “Bloody hell, is there no one I can trust?”

Ella slapped him -- hard.

As the fallen angel rubbed his stinging cheek, she said, “Lucifer, stop with the paranoia.  Why do you think Chloe is working with your father?”

“Because he made her --”

The lab tech gasped.  “What, she’s your sister?”

“Bloody hell, no!”  Lucifer shuddered at the suggestion.  “No, not my sister.  My brother blessed a woman so that she’d have a baby, and that baby was the detective.”

She squinted at him.  “So... your brother’s a priest?”

Lucifer rubbed his forehead in frustration.  Honestly, humans could be so dense.  “No, he’s not.  He’s an angel --”

A sudden grin of comprehension lit her face.  “Oh, I get it!  The whole fallen angel acting thing?  Yeah, okay.  Sure.  Gotcha.  So you’re saying God created Chloe.”

“Yes.”  He glanced up at the sky and threw up his hands.   _“Finally_ someone understands!”

Ella sighed.  “Dude, we’re human.  God created us all, really.”

Lucifer wanted to slam his forehead against the table.  Why did no one ever understand what he was saying?  “Right.  Well, the detective had a bit of an extra helping hand from Dad.”

“So what?”

He whirled on her, rage building inside of him.  “So what?!”

“Yeah, so what!”  Ella’s expression gradually changed from belligerence to horror.  “Oh my god, you can’t possibly be blaming Chloe for being _born_ , are you?   _Seriously,_ Lucifer?!”

He blinked.  Had he been?  She wouldn’t have existed if not for Dad, after all.  He had a right to be angry that his manipulative bastard of a father threw her in his path.  And yet when Ella said asked him if he was blaming Chloe for being born, he was filled with shame -- for he had been a bit, although most of his ire was still directed at Dad.  Still....  He rubbed the back of his neck as confusion swamped him, before taking refuge in indignation.

“You don’t understand!  Dad wanted me to meet her -- it’s all part of his grand design!  These feelings that we had for each other were all engineered by him!  None of it was real!”

With a hand on her hip, Ella stared at him like he was daft.  “Lucifer, you’re a good friend and a great method actor, but I gotta say... you’re an idiot.”

He was stunned at her words.  “I beg your pardon?”

“You.  Are.  An.  Idiot.”  She punctuated each word with a poke to his shoulder.  “Are you serious?  None of the feelings are real?”  She rolled her eyes and flung up her hands.  “Geez, dude!  Seriously?”

“They aren’t!”

“Of course they are!  Where the hell did you get such a stupid idea?”  Grabbing a chair, she pulled it beside his and took a seat.  Taking a hold of his forearm, she looked deep into his eyes.  “What Chloe felt for you was real, Lucifer.  I know.  I saw her anguish when you avoided her for a week, and when she was in the hospital.  I see her anguish now.”

Lucifer gaped at her.  Was that true?  Had the detective’s feelings been real?

No.  Impossible.

He shook his head.  “If she’s feeling any anguish, it’s only because she wasn’t able to get close enough to me to do Dad’s bidding.  Dad’s a manipulative bastard.  There’s no way he wouldn’t be behind all of this.”

Ella gave him a hard look.  “So you’re saying her feelings are controlled by God.”

“Yes.”

“And what about you?  Are your feelings controlled by him, as well?”

The fallen angel started.  “No!  Of course not.  I know what I feel, and I’m certainly not influenced by dear old Dad.”

“But you fell in love with her.”

“I... I....”  He broke off, then shook his head.  “No.  That was all Dad --”

“Oh -- so God tells you what to feel.”

Lucifer started to feel his head spin.  Was he not making himself clear?  “Dad does not tell me what to feel!”

“So then you _did_ fall in love with Chloe!”

He stared at her, agog.  Had he?  Yes.  His feelings for Chloe were real.  But... did that mean hers were real, as well?  No -- surely hers weren’t....  His mouth tightened and he crossed his arms.  They couldn’t be -- for if they were, then he had destroyed her for no reason, and he refused to think that.  He was justified in being angry.  He was!

As if reading his mind, Ella asked, “If you fell in love with Chloe, why can’t she fall in love with you?”

His mind spun at her words.  What the lab tech said made sense, but he just couldn’t accept it.  She had to be wrong.  In a faltering voice, he said, “S-she’s his puppet -- she was created by Dad.”

“God created you too.  Why is she his puppet and not you?”  At his shocked expression, Ella sighed.  “Look, since you’re so big on your role as the Devil, you of all people should know that humans have free will.  Chloe is free to think what she likes... feel what she likes... and most of all, love whomever she chooses.”  Leaning forward, she asked, “What makes you think that she isn’t?”

Faced with Ella’s logic, Lucifer’s reasoning for rejecting Chloe started to crumble.  “But... she has to be controlled by Dad.  He made her,” he repeated.  “He’s trying to manipulate me.   I mean, how can I trust that anyone I meet is not sent by him?  What if I’m stuck in this horrid, multilayered design of Dad’s?  How can I be truly free of him?”

Ella rubbed her face with her hand and sighed.  “Look, you think God is trying to manipulate you.  Maybe, maybe not.  But you have choices, Lucifer.  You can choose to go left, right, or straight.  You don’t have to follow his ‘grand design.’  Just be you.”

He snorted.  “Easy for you to say.  You don’t understand.  Why, the detective is a prime example of his bloody machinations!  He threw her in my path, made her fall in love with me -- although his reasoning for doing it escapes me.”

“Man, you have your head screwed on backwards.”  Taking a deep breath, Ella tapped Lucifer’s arm and turned his attention to the story on her monitor.  “Okay, let’s break this down.  Here -- at the beginning of the story.  Chloe says that she didn’t like you when she first met you.  She said you were repulsive.  Look here -- ‘He was rude, smarmy, childish, selfish, a smart-ass....  Oh, so many things.  He rubbed me the wrong way...’  Dude, she did _not_ like you.  Does that sound like God telling her to fall in love with you?”

The fallen angel felt all the blood rush from his face as he stared at the words until they blurred in his vision.  “No.”

“And here, look -- it took her a long time to get used to you.  Does that sound like God controlling her feelings?  If he was, wouldn’t he make her fall in love with you right away? Wouldn’t she have pursued you?”

Pressing his eyes shut tightly, Lucifer shook his head.  “I... I suppose.”

“And here.  ‘We became friends... and over time, I fell in love with him.’  It wasn’t an instantaneous thing, Lucifer.  Her feelings grew gradually for you.  And do you know why?  Because they were real.  She fell in love with you, and not because God told her to.  She wasn’t some puppet, manipulated by God.  It was real, Lucifer.  What she felt for you was _real.”_

“But... it can’t be...  She couldn’t have...?”

Ella’s eyes were full of wisdom.  “God doesn’t control what’s in our hearts, Lucifer.  Sure, okay, he may throw people in your path -- so what?  That’s not a guarantee that they will love you.  We all have free will, the ability to choose who we love or don’t love.  God doesn’t make that choice -- we do.”

That made sense, but still one thing confused him.  “But... but if she truly loved me, she wouldn’t be saying goodbye, would she?”

“Don’t you see?  She’s saying goodbye _because_ she loves you.  She wants you to be happy, but doesn’t think you can be, with her... so she’s doing what she thinks is best for you.  She’s letting you go.”

That kind of thinking confused Lucifer.  “I don’t understand.  You don’t let someone go if you love them.”

“When you truly love someone, you put their needs first.”  Still seeing puzzlement on his face, Ella sighed and tried again.  “Look, love isn’t something shallow.  It’s deep.  Your heart doesn’t care about appearances or if that person’s reputation leaves something to be desired.   When you fall in love, you accept your lover for who they are, flaws and all.  You think about what they like, what’s best for them... you put them first.  And if you think they will be happier without you, then you let them go.”

The fallen angel stared at his friend as her words penetrated his brain.  Did Chloe truly love him?  If he went by Ella’s definition, she certainly did.  She had cared for him -- even to the point of asking him what _he_ desired.  She had seen him at his worst and his most vulnerable, but never once had she laughed at him or berated him for his weakness.  Nay, instead she had lifted him up and given him strength.  No one else had ever done that for him.  Her actions had touched his heart and made him feel... happy.  Yes, she had made him happy.

And hadn’t she brought her little one to the penthouse to prove she still trusted him despite who he was?  She had accepted him, despite his reputation of being the Devil, and in spite of all of his flaws and scars.  She hadn’t cared about any of that, had she?  She had kissed his burned visage and told him he was important to her.  She had cared for what was in his heart.

And yet when he had found out that she was a miracle, what had he done?  He certainly hadn’t treated her with the same grace that she had given him.  Nay, he had automatically assumed the worst, letting his paranoia and resentment toward his father override his love for her.  Instead of telling her it didn’t matter what she was, he had immediately rejected her.  He had been selfish, thinking only of himself.

He was a complete and utter fool.

Shame rippled through the fallen angel as his hands started to tremble.  His stomach churned viciously, threatening him with the possibility of vomiting.  His heart pounded louder and faster than a high school drum line, and his breathing grew shallow.  Dizziness assailed him, causing his head to feel like it was about to float away on it’s own, and Ella’s voice suddenly sounded oh, so far away....

“Lucifer!”  Ella’s face was suddenly in front of him, looking at him with concern.  “Are you okay?”

“What have I done?  What have --”  He shook his head in an effort to clear it.  He had to get a hold of himself!  Taking a deep breath, he nodded.  “I... I’ve been a bloody fool.  I can’t... She can’t... no.  I can’t let her do it.  I... I can’t live without her.”  He looked up at Ella as he chewed his lower lip.  “How... how can I fix this?”

The tense lines on the lab tech’s face suddenly relaxed, and she smiled.  “You get down on your knees and beg her forgiveness.”

Biting his lower lip, Lucifer gazed at Ella with big, sorrowful eyes.  “She... she’ll never forgive me.  I broke her heart.  She’ll never give me a second chance.”

“She will.”

“No, she won’t... because I didn’t give her one.”  He sighed heavily.  “I destroy everything I touch.”

“No, Lucifer, I refuse to believe that.  We are going to get this fixed,” Ella said.  “Trust me.”

Slanting her a glance, he asked, “Do I have a choice?”

She smiled.  “Nope!  No choice at all.”

He rolled his eyes and muttered under his breath, “So much for free will....”

Ella whapped him once again with the file, this time on his head.  “Stop it, Mister Smarty Pants, and listen to me.  Chloe loves you.  Just apologize -- she’ll understand.”

He doubted that very much.  

As he rubbed his eyes and wished himself into a very deep hole, Ella gave his hand a squeeze.  “Don’t do it here, though.  Do it where you’ll have some privacy.”  Her mouth pursed as she glanced at the ceiling and thought.  After a few seconds, her face brightened.  “I know!  Do it tonight at her apartment.  I’ll talk to her about taking Trixie to the new Disney movie, and I’ll drag Maze along, too.  You’ll have her all to yourself.”

“You... you would help me?”

“Of course!  I’m the Miraculous Matchmaker, remember?  I can’t have you ruining my record, can I?”  Grinning like a Cheshire cat, Ella rose to her feet and gave him the thumbs up sign.  “Don’t worry, Lightbringer1, we’re going to get you back on track.  Make me proud tonight!”

Make her proud?  Bloody hell, he still had no idea what she meant by that.

“Of what?” he yelled as she dashed out of her office, then shook his head.  Half the time he had no idea what the human was saying.  The idea of having the detective to himself, though... that was appealing.  

He just hoped the damage he had inflicted on Chloe wasn’t irreversible.

 

 


	15. Foot in the Door

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A super-big thank you to my excellent beta, ScooterThyme! You ROCK!

 

 

That evening, Ella made arrangements to meet Chloe at her apartment after work, then followed her home in her car.  As she followed the blonde detective through the front door, the lab tech studied her friend with concern.  Despite being dressed in her stylish work clothes, Chloe looked awful with her face pale and her eyes unhappy.  Ella frowned as her friend slipped her hand under the sling and rubbed her injured shoulder.

“Are you okay?” Ella asked as she closed the door behind them.

Chloe shrugged.  “It’s going to be a while before the pain goes completely away.”

“Are you taking your pain meds?”

“No.  They make me feel sick.”

Ella frowned.  “You need to take them.  You’re slowing down your body’s healing powers by letting the pain get in the way.”

“Pain reminds me I’m still alive,” Chloe said with a crooked smile.

Oh, that didn’t sound good.  The lab tech struggled to inject some cheer into the conversation.  “Well hey, I’m glad you let me swing by.  I’ve missed our outings at the Nickel Mine.”

The other woman gave her a wan smile.  “Me too.  It’s been  a tough couple of weeks.”

Ella frowned.  Chloe looked thinner, and not in a healthy way, either.  “Are you eating?”

“No, I haven’t really felt like it.”

“That’s not good, Chloe.  You have to eat.”

The blonde woman said nothing.

Sighing, Ella smoothed the front of her shirt and gave a toss of her head.  “Well, I’m here to give you a bit of a break.  I thought I could take Trixie out to a movie and give you some quiet time to get well.”

Chloe shook her head.  “You’re a good friend, Ella, but there’s really no need.  Trixie and I can keep each other company.”

Trying to remain calm, the dark-haired woman smiled.  It felt plastic, but at least it was a smile.  “Come on, it can’t be easy to care for your daughter when you’ve been shot.  Let me help, okay?  Friends help friends, right?”

Just then Maze walked in the door, stopping dead at the sight of Ella.  “What’s this?  You guys planning on going out without me?”  She bared her teeth at the two of them.  “You cutting me out?”

“What?  No!”  Ella gave the taller woman a grin as she forced down her panic.  “I was just telling Chloe that I wanted to give her a break.  You know, take Trixie out for a movie.”  Thinking hard, she realized Maze had just given her the perfect way to get Chloe to stay home alone, for she wouldn’t want to be around a lot of people.  If it sounded like they were going to be loud and boisterous, there was a good chance the detective would refuse to go.  Brightening, Ella said, “Hey, I know!  Chloe, if you’d rather we all do something together, we can go eat some In-N-Out, and then go see the latest Disney flick --”

“Oh hell, no, I’m not going to see some Disney movie.”  The bounty hunter curled her lip at the suggestion, and shuddered.

_ Crap. _  Maze was not cooperating.

Chloe turned away and headed for the staircase.  “Well, whatever.  I’m going to go change and get comfortable.”  Once she was out of earshot, Ella grabbed Maze by the arm and dragged her closer to the entry where they could talk.

“Hey, I really need Chloe to be alone tonight,” she hissed to the other woman.

Smirking, Maze lifted an eyebrow.  “Why, you have something kinky planned?”

“No!  Lucifer’s coming tonight to patch things up with her.”

For a moment the bounty hunter just stared at Ella.  Fear shot through the lab tech at the possibility of Maze disapproving of her matchmaking efforts, but the other woman surprised her by breaking out into a huge grin.  “Well, it’s about time that idiot got his act together!  I am so sick of seeing Chloe be so completely apathetic -- she’s no fun that way.  Can we spy on them through the windows and watch them f--”

“Trixie will be with us,” Ella said quickly.  “We need to take her to dinner and a movie.”

For a brief moment Maze looked disappointed, before she smirked.  “No problem.  I’d happily go see a stupid Disney film if it’s going to get that sappy couple together.”

As Maze wandered off, yelling for Trixie, Ella sagged with relief.   After seeing how truly depressed the detective was, she was pretty sure Chloe wouldn’t want to come on an outing with them.

Sure enough, when the blonde woman came back downstairs and looked at the three of them ready for their outing, she shook her head.  “I’m really sorry, guys... I just don’t feel up to it.”

Ella managed to look put out while her insides sang with triumph.  “Aw, I’m really sorry Chloe.  Are you sure?  We can stay, if you’d rather...?”

She shook her head again.  “No, you guys go on without me.”

“What are you going to do, Mommy?” Trixie asked with worry in her eyes.

Chloe knelt down and gave her daughter a hug.  “Just take it easy -- read a good book, maybe.”

The little girl’s face screwed up unhappily.  “You’re going to cry some more, aren’t you?”

The blonde woman gave her a smile full of false bravado.  “No, no, I wouldn’t do that.”

Trixie hugged her mother hard.  “It’s going to be okay, Mommy.  You’ll see.”

Chloe said nothing, merely hugged her daughter back before straightening.  “Have a good time.”

“Thanks.  We’ll be back in a few hours,” Ella said as she ushered Maze and Trixie out the door.  The little girl dragged her feet as she kept glancing behind her, reluctant to leave her mother.  Once they reached the parking lot, the lab tech told her, “Don’t worry, Trix.  Your mom’s going to be fine tonight.  I think she might need a little time to herself.”

Maze grinned.  “Or not.”

Ella gave the demon a sharp look, then returned her attention to Trixie.  “Look, we’ll have a nice dinner and watch something fun.  When we get back, I’m sure your mom will be more like herself.”

The demon turned away, muttering under her breath, “If you really want to watch something fun, we should just hang outside the window --”

Giving her one last glare, the lab tech shot off a quick text to Lucifer, then turned back to the little girl.  “Have faith, Trixie.  Things have a way of working themselves out.” She took a deep breath then smiled at her friends.  “Now... what do you all want to eat for dinner?”

 

 

________________________________________

 

 

_ Trixie and Maze are with me, Chloe’s alone.  Make me proud! _

Sitting in his Corvette in the parking lot of Chloe’s apartment, Lucifer stared down at the text from Ella for the tenth time.  Having pulled up an hour ago, he just couldn’t seem to make himself get out of the car.  It was quite baffling that he sat frozen, unable to make his limbs work.  Perhaps it had to do with his rapid breathing, or the tightness in his chest?  He didn’t know.  Truly, all he had to do was just step out.  So why couldn’t he?

After all, there really was nothing to fear, right?  Chloe would let him inside, listen to his apology, and then everything would go back to normal.  At least, that’s how he hoped things would unfold.  It should be easy -- he was the Devil, after all.

Just open the car door....

With his insides quivering like Jell-O, Lucifer slowly stepped out of the Corvette and stared up at the building.  He easily spotted her apartment -- after all, the dining room window was still boarded up.  He’d have to make some calls and get that fixed for her.  Massaging the back of his neck, he wondered if this was a good idea. Would she even want to see him?  What if Ella was wrong?  What if Chloe hated him?  He didn’t know how he could withstand her contempt.

Of course, it would be just what he deserved, after treating her so abominably....

Well, he’d never find out if he didn’t go to see her.  Reaching over to the passenger side of the car, he removed two bags -- one big, one small.  He had brought dinner for her, as well as a gift.  He wasn’t sure if she’d understand the meaning of his present to her, but he hoped she would.  Taking a deep breath to steady himself, he rolled his shoulders a few times, then forced one foot in front of the other until he reached the stairwell.

He could still run -- there was time.  All he had to do was turn right around, and drive away.  She’d never be the wiser.  This had been a bad idea to begin with.  He was just opening himself up to more hurt, and was there anything really wrong with putting this off until another day?  Maybe he should just go home and sleep -- it always made him feel better.  Yes, he’d just... come back later.  He took a step toward the parking lot when the word “goodbye” flashed in his brain.

If he left now, he’d never see her again -- he could feel it in his bones.  He’d never have the chance to make amends.  For the rest of eternity he’d be alone, existing with a vast emptiness inside his chest.  Could he live without Chloe’s impulsive hugs, her warm laugh, or her love for frozen cardboard food?  Well, he definitely could do without the last one, but he couldn’t do without cooking for her.  And the other two -- well, he’d die without them.  No, a life without Chloe was no life at all.

Somehow he found himself on the landing in front of her apartment.  He wasn’t sure how he had gotten there, but he did vaguely recall climbing the stairs.  Another five minutes passed before he struck up the nerve to knock on the door.  He could have just opened it, but with all that had happened, he couldn’t bring himself to just saunter in, as if everything was normal.  It wasn’t.

A minute passed -- an indescribably long minute, in which he counted the seconds, hoping that would make time pass faster.  The sound of the lock bolt echoed in the hall as it slid back, and the door knob slowly turned.  Then the door swung open and Chloe stood there with her lovely golden hair in disarray, dressed in her favorite flannel shirt and a pair of worn jeans.  Her eyes were puffy and red in a face as white as snow -- bloody hell, she had been crying.  His heart clenched painfully in his chest as he cursed himself to Hell and back.

For a brief moment she stared at him, her eyes growing wide, before slamming the door shut.

_ Shite. _

“Detective!”  Lucifer banged on the door.  “Detective, please --”

“Go away.”

As he bit his lower lip, his heart started pounding out an uneven beat, and his mouth went dry.  “Detective, please, will you let me explain?”

“There’s nothing to explain.”  Her voice was muffled through the door, but Lucifer caught the words.  “You made it perfectly plain that it’s over -- I get it.  Go away.”

At her words, his stomach dropped to his toes.  No.   _ No. _  “Detective -- look, I brought you food,” he cajoled.  “Please.  Just give me five minutes of your time.  Just five minutes.  If after that you still want to send me away, I’ll go and never bother you again.  Just --  _ please....” _

There was silence on the other side.

“Come on, Detective -- five minutes.  What harm could five minutes do?”

Still nothing.

Hoping to somehow get through to her, he pressed his palm against the door.  “Detective, please....”  His hand curled into a fist as the back of his eyes burned, and he leaned his forehead against the wood.  “Please....”

Silence.

Trying hard to swallow the lump in his throat that wouldn’t go away, he backed away from the door.  The emptiness in his chest expanded, hollowing him out until there was nothing left but despair.  Blackness crowded his vision, but he blinked hard to force it away.  He had ruined the best thing in his life, and he had no one to blame but himself.

“I... I understand,” he said, his voice stumbling over the words.  “I’ll... I’ll leave you now.”

Rubbing his forehead with an angry hand, he turned away.   _ Stupid. _  He was an idiot.  He felt every one of his years -- eons of them -- bearing down on his shoulders as he walked away with a shuffling gait and slumped shoulders.  He felt... old, for the first time in his life.  He needed a drink... desperately.  Or perhaps sleep.  Sleep was infinitely better.  At least he could be with her in his dreams, couldn’t he?  Ah, if he could sleep forever....

He had only taken three or four steps when he heard a door open behind him.  His heart faltered for a fraction of a second before hammering out a mad beat as hope took flight in his chest.  Turning, he saw that Chloe’s apartment door was open.  Not one to let a chance go by, he hurried back.

She stood at the entry, her eyes on the floor as he walked inside.  She looked... fragile.  Lucifer felt his stomach churn and twist into knots.  He had done this to her... had broken the one person who truly meant anything to him.  He wanted to kick himself to eternity and back.

Setting the large bag in the entryway, he dug into it and pulled out a bottle of red wine.  He handed it and the smaller bag to her.  “Dinner?” he asked, trying to keep his tone light.  “I made the fries myself.”

Chloe merely looked at his offering, then shut the door and straightened, her face pale and tense.  “Five minutes.”

 

 


	16. Five Minutes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A super-huge thank you to my excellent beta, ScooterThyme! You rock!

 

 

_Five minutes._

Lucifer had five minutes to state his case.  Swallowing hard, he nodded as the butterflies in his stomach started dancing violently, giving him a stomach ache.  He could make everything right again -- he had to.

“Right.”  His heart thumped painfully as he followed Chloe to the living room.  She was giving him a chance -- he had to use it wisely, and not squander it.  Setting the food and wine down on the coffee table, he sat on the couch, hoping she would sit beside him.  But no... she sat in the adjacent armchair, wrapping her good arm across her sling and half-turning away, as if trying to stay as far away from him as possible.  Lucifer winced.  Her actions hurt, but it wasn’t anything that he didn’t deserve.

“I....”  How to start?  He didn’t know how.  “I....”

Bloody hell, this was hard.

She wasn’t helping either -- she merely stared off in the distance with those red, puffy eyes of hers, in a face filled with hurt and pain.

“Detective....”  Lucifer swallowed hard as he searched for the right words to fix all the damage he had done.  Taking a deep breath, he said, “I don’t like my father.”

Her eyes flicked to his briefly, then fell away.

“He’s a manipulative bastard -- he always has been.  He’s been tampering in the lives of everyone around him for millennia.”  He peeked a glance at Chloe.  She was still looking away, but he got the impression that she was listening.  It gave him hope.  “A long time ago, I asked Dad to let me live my own life -- be my own man.  Throwing me into Hell was his answer.”

She looked at him then, her face inscrutable.  Lucifer wished he understood human emotions better.  Perhaps if he did, he’d be able to decipher what her expression meant.

Leaning forward, he tried to catch her gaze.  “Right.  Dad’s always been interfering in my life, in one way or another.  He’s just not happy leaving things be.  He interferes in everyone’s business -- even humans.  Bloody hell, mankind wouldn’t even be here had he not started tinkering in the garage.”  Lucifer ran a frustrated hand through his hair.

Chloe turned away again.  A bad sign...?  He bit his lower lip.  He could see he was losing her.  He was going to have to throw everything to the wind and hope for the best.

He took a deep breath.  “Look, when I found out Amenadiel had... well, had arranged for us to meet, I went a little mad.  Here was dear old Dad, yet again interfering in my life.  He made sure we’d cross paths one day.  I assumed you knew you of his involvement, that you had always known we would meet....  That you knew Dad had assigned you the task of loving me.  Suddenly everything we had experienced together felt like a lie.  I felt... betrayed.”

When her head swiveled back to look at him, her aqua eyes were hard.  “I did not know anything of the sort.”

“I realize that now.  It’s just that at the time I was so angry that I couldn’t think straight.  All I could see was Dad sticking his hand in where it didn’t belong, taking away my free will --”  He broke off, swallowed hard, and tried again.  “You have no idea how hard it is to be born a pawn, Detective.  And that’s what I am.  That’s what all of my siblings and I are.  We’re just his pawns, created to do his bidding.

“When I came to Earth, I thought I was finally able to experience freedom.  To do what I wanted to do -- be my own man.  It felt good, Detective.  You have no idea how good it felt to be free of that overbearing tosser.  And then I met you, and for the first time in my life, I was truly happy.  But...”  He looked away.  “But I wasn’t truly free, was I?  He engineered our meeting.  It... hurt to find that out.  That I still had no free will.  That he was still moving me about his bloody chessboard.”

Chloe said nothing as she looked down at her lap.

Lucifer sighed.  “Look, I’m sorry about hurting you.  I never meant to -- I was just....  Well, that doesn’t matter now.  If I could take back some of the things I said, I would --”

Her voice was soft, almost inaudible.  “But you can’t.”  When she looked up at him, her eyes were tortured.  “You will always see me as your father’s tool, something he threw into your path.  I can never make you happy.”

Cold fear shot through him as he felt her slipping away, like sand through his fingers.  “Yes, you can!  Detective --”

She said nothing -- merely looked at him, as if testing his sincerity.

“I know you have no reason to believe me, but I can’t be happy with anyone but you.  Please....”

Biting her lip, Chloe dropped her gaze to her lap once again.

He stared long and hard at her, his stomach twisting and churning, overwhelming him with the urge to vomit.  “So... I’ve lost you, then?”  He vaulted to his feet, suddenly anxious to get away.  “Right.  Of course.  I was a fool to think....  I have to go --”

Her cold fingers gripping his hand stopped him dead in his tracks.  Glancing down in surprise, he stared down into eyes the color of a turbulent sea.

“Wait.”  She took a deep breath.  Then another, as if bracing herself for something.  “Wait.  Don’t go yet.”

Almost as if he had no will of his own, he sank back onto the couch.  “But... you hate me.”

She shook her head as she released his hand.  He didn’t want her to let go, but was too afraid to stop her.  “No.  I don’t hate you.”  She perched on the edge of her seat.  “Lucifer, those things you said to me really hurt.  You basically said you don’t trust me.”

His mouth gaped open.  “But I do --”

“No.  You don’t.  If you did, you wouldn’t have believed that I could betray you like that.”  Chloe squeezed her eyes shut.  “You doubt my feelings for you.  You don’t think that I truly care for you.”

“I do think you care!” he cried, leaning forward.  “It’s just that I’ve been reviled for so long... hated by my own family and by all of humanity.  It’s... hard to believe that someone can actually have... feelings for me.”

Chloe looked away.  When her eyes returned to his, they were filled with sadness.  “Lucifer, I know your life has been hard, but have I ever given you cause you doubt me?”

His insides shattered into a thousand pieces as he considered her words.  “No.”  Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath and repeated, “No.  You never have, Detective.  You’ve been nothing but good.”

Lucifer cradled his head in his hands and fought back the urge to weep.  He had ruined everything.  She wasn’t going to forgive him -- she’d never forgive him.  He destroyed everything he touched, including the one good thing in his life.  He should have known better.  The Devil didn’t deserve happiness.

Swallowing hard, he struggled to get rid of the lump in his throat.  “I’m sorry.  I’m... I’ll go now.”

“Lucifer --”  Her hand on his stopped him from rising off the couch.  “Wait.”

He shook his head.  “No.  I’ve... I’ve ruined everything.  I’ve hurt you -- the one person I never intended to hurt.”  He laughed bitterly.  “I should have known better than to come here.  I’m a fool.”

She sighed, then rose to her feet.  He thought she was going to show him the door, but when she sat right down next to him and placed a hand on his forearm, shock rippled through him.  Her touch sent electric sparks through his body, but he squeezed his eyes shut.  Forcing himself to be still, he tried to memorize the feel of her hand, her voice, her warmth....  He would need the memories for the lonely life ahead of him.

Her voice was tender when she said, “Lucifer, don’t run away.”

His eyes opened at the sound of her voice, and he turned to find her face close to his.  Oh, she was so beautiful -- he could drown in her aqua eyes, deeper than the ocean.  He filled his vision with her, desperate to keep her image in his mind forever.  “I... I’m not running.  I’m doing the one thing that I should have done a long time ago.  I’m... getting out of your life.”

“You’re running.  I’m not going to let you -- not yet.”

The fallen angel patted her hand before gently removing it and handing it back to her.  “You can’t stop me, my dear.  I’m doing what is best for you -- what I should have done in the very beginning.”

When he made to get up, Chloe wrapped her good arm around him, completely immobilizing him.  Lucifer was shocked.  What was she doing?  Why in the world was she hugging him?  Thoughts chased themselves around his head in a whirlwind, making him dizzy as he struggled to understand them.

“W-what are you doing?” he finally asked.

“We are going to talk this out and get it resolved.  Then you can go.”  She stared hard at him, her face determined, until he sat back against the backrest of the couch.  Nodding at his actions, she said, “Good.”

“I... I don’t understand.”

“I know.”  Chloe took a deep breath.  “Look, I know you’ve had a hard life.  Maligned for millennia by the whole world, vilified by your father and your family --”

“And manipulated, Detective.  Don’t forget that,” he said dryly.

“And manipulated.”  She laced her hand in his.  “I know trust doesn’t come easy for you.  But trust and love go hand in hand.  Do you understand?”

He didn’t know what she was driving at.  In fact, he wasn’t even sure he understood what she was talking about.  He had never really been loved, or trusted.  Those things just weren’t part of his vocabulary... but he did know that he loved her.  Oh yes, he loved her -- that was a certainty.  He’d go to Hell for her a thousand times, if she asked him to.

“If we are to have any kind of relationship, Lucifer, you have to trust me.”

He blinked.  She... she still wanted to have a relationship with him...?  Surely he had misheard....

“Now, I’d never do anything to betray you.  Do you understand?” she asked.

The fallen angel nodded, still reeling from the thought that she wasn’t going to throw him out of her life... well, at least, not yet.

“So this whole thing about your father matchmaking us....  You must believe me when I tell you that I had no knowledge of what Amenadiel was doing.”

He swallowed, pushing back the sudden hope that lit his insides like a beacon.  It was too soon to for that.  “I realize that now.  I was a fool to think that you knew.  You... you would have told me, because that’s who you are.”

Her hand squeezed his, giving him another burst of hope.  “Good.  I don’t ever want you to think I would betray you in such a manner.”

“I never will again.”

“We have to talk these things out, not just go jumping to conclusions.”

He looked up at that.  “I realize that now, and I’m sorry, Detective.  If there was any way I could take it all back, I would.”

She nodded.  “I know.”

“It’s just that....”

“Yes?”

Biting his lower lip, the fallen angel turned away and struggled to tell her what he felt inside.  “It’s hard... I’ve known you for such a short period of time, and what I feel for you... I don’t always understand it.  When my brother said such things about you, I couldn’t think straight.”  He turned to her, his heart beating hard.  “I _am_ sorry, Detective.  You’ll never know how much.”

Chloe took a deep breath.  When she finally smiled, it was as if the sun had broken through stormclouds.  “I know.  Just... don’t doubt me again, okay?”

Lucifer couldn’t believe what he was hearing.  “You... you’re going to give me a second chance?”

She lifted her hand to caress his stubbly cheek.  “Yes, Lucifer.  Because you deserve a second chance.  But the next time you have doubts, you have to promise me that we’ll talk things out.”

He couldn’t keep his joy contained.  Reaching out, he hauled her into his arms and hugged her as tightly as he dared without hurting her, burying his face in the crook of her neck and fighting back the tears.  He didn’t deserve her -- didn’t deserve this beautiful, wonderful, kind-hearted soul.  Warmth radiated from his chest and permeated his bones, lightening his heart until he thought he could fly.  He loved Chloe so much -- _loved_ her!

“Thank you,” he whispered against her hair.  “Thank you....”

“Just one thing,” she said as her hand caressed his back.  Lucifer froze, foreboding in his heart, and pulled back.

“What is it, love?”

“Will you truly be able to forget that your father threw me into your path?  Or will you think of that every time you look at me?”  She frowned, her face grimacing with worry.

Would he?  For a brief second he wondered, before resolve filled him.  No.  No, he wouldn’t.  She was Chloe -- his partner.  His love.  His OTP.  His mouth tightened with determination.  “No, I won’t.”

“Are you sure?  Because I don’t want you to be unhappy.  If it’s going to be a problem --”

“It won’t be.  Look, Ella told me that Dad doesn’t control our hearts.  I believe that.”  Taking a hold of her shoulders, he held her so that she could see the sincerity in his eyes.  “You didn’t want to fall in love with me at first.  Your story told me that.  If Dad had been controlling you, you wouldn’t have disliked me so much.  I see that now.  Dad wasn’t the one who made us care for each other.  That was me.  You.  Our hearts.”  He cupped her face, then rested his forehead against hers.  “I know my own heart, and Dad had nothing to do with what I feel for you.  I don’t think he had anything to do with what you feel for me, either.”

Chloe smiled, her face tender as she gazed upon him.  “No he doesn’t.”

Lucifer smiled at last.  “Good.”

He gently wrapped his arms around her again.  Leaning back, he took her with him, so that they were lying down on the couch, side by side.  “Am I hurting you?”

She shook her head.  “No... not much.”

He started to sit up.  “Then I should let you up --”

Reaching out, Chloe linked her good hand in his.  “No.  Please.  I’m fine, really.”

Giving her a concerned look, Lucifer relaxed back down onto the couch.  “You’re sure?”

“Yes.”

“Very well.”  He sighed and squeezed her hand.  “You’re the other half of my soul, love.  I’m happiest when I’m with you.”

She snuggled against him.  “Me, too.”

Closing his eyes, he reveled in the feel of Chloe in his arms, lying against him like a lover.  For the first time since Amenadiel had told him about Chloe, he felt at peace.

 

 


	17. Together Again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A super-huge thank you to my excellent beta, ScooterThyme! You rock!

 

 

“If you ever feel resentful and unhappy about Amenadiel trying to matchmake us, you have to tell me.”

Lucifer cracked an eyelid open to peer at the woman on his chest as they lay on the couch.  Chloe felt so good there -- so right.  It felt as if a part of his soul that he had never known was missing had been returned.  Nuzzling her hair reassuringly, he let his hands wander over her back and draw intricate designs on the flannel material.  “It won’t happen.”

Chloe looked up at him and frowned.  “But if it does, I want you to promise me that you’ll go find happiness.”

Lucifer’s insides shrank from her suggestion.  He would never leave her -- never.  “I have happiness right here, love -- right here in my arms.  I’m not making any such promise.”

“Lucifer --”

“No.”  Reaching over, he tucked a blonde lock of hair behind her ear and smiled.  “You’re not getting rid of me that easily.”  When Lucifer felt her good hand wrap around his chest, euphoria blossomed within him and he smiled.  “Besides, who would cook for you, my dear?  You and your little one would die from starvation if you keep eating those dreadful cardboard frozen things from the market.”

She gave a chuckle.  “Well, I guess we can’t have that.”

“And you’ll find I’m infinitely useful.  I’m a fine protector, I help with your investigations, I bring you food and wine --”

“Oh!  Your food!”  Without warning, Chloe suddenly pulled away from Lucifer and sat up.  As she reached for the paper bag on the coffee table, he frowned and pulled himself to a sitting position.  How could she think of food when he was telling her all about all of the fantastic benefits he came with?

“Ooooh, burger and fries -- I’m starving!”  She dug into the bag while he scowled.

“Seriously, Detective?  I mean, I’m sitting right here, trying to expound my wondrous qualities to you --”

She wasn’t listening.  Taking a big bite of the burger, she rolled her eyes in delight.  “Oh, this is delicious.”  After eating in silence for a few minutes, she glanced at him, her eyes apologetic.  “Sorry.  I... I haven’t felt like eating in days.  This is the first real food I’ve eaten since....”  Her gaze fell away as she lowered the burger.

Since he had rejected her.  Lucifer’s stomach roiled violently, and he swallowed hard as he tried to get rid of the sudden lump in his throat.  No wonder she had looked so wan....  Wrapping his arm around her shoulders, he gave her a little squeeze before picking up the wine bottle.  “By all means, eat way, my dear.  Let me get you something to drink with that.”

By the time he came back with the open wine bottle, two glasses, and his large bag from the entryway, she had polished off the burger and was digging into the fries.  He stood back and watched her eat with gusto, pleased to see her good appetite.  He didn’t like the thought of her not eating because of him.

As he sat and poured them both some wine, she nodded at the bag.  “What do you have there?”

“Oh, this?”  He handed it to her.  “It’s a gift that I brought for you.”

A teasing smile touched her lips.  “You were _that_ sure I’d let you in the door?”

Lucifer’s gaze drifted to the ceiling.  “Well... no, but one can always hope....”

Chuckling, she wiped her hand on a napkin and reached for the present.  Her gasp filled him with satisfaction, and he grinned as he sat up a little straighter.

“Oh, Lucifer,” she whispered, as she pulled out the very large white, soft, plushy teddy bear with red devil horns, holding a pitchfork.  “Oh, he’s wonderful.”

“Since you and your little one were so kind as to give me a bear, I thought I’d return the favor.  Not quite man-sized, but hopefully it will do.”  Feeling his cheeks grow hot, he cleared his throat and tried to look sophisticated.  He knew it wasn’t the best present, but he wanted to somehow convey how important she was to him.  The teddy bear gesture seemed right, since it harkened back to the man-sized teddy bear story she had asked for.  He hoped she understood what he was trying to say -- that she was important to him.

Hugging it close to her, Chloe looked at him with eyes bright with unshed tears.  “I love him.”

Seeing her hold the teddy bear close and nuzzle it lovingly, he suddenly felt the urge to be that white, fluffy toy.  His mind started imagining all sorts of lovely situations with him as a teddy bear -- for surely the detective would take the toy with her to bed?  Sleeping snuggled up and all cozy in her arms... he sighed with content.  Of course, sex would be nice too, but lately he found himself craving her hugs and sweet kisses.  Well, maybe that was because he’d never had sex with her.  If he had sex with her, surely he’d be craving that, instead...?

What was he thinking?!  The Devil was not a big, fluffy plushy toy!  Shaking himself from his daydream, he reached out and stroked Chloe’s hair.

“Thank you for the story you wrote for me.  It helped me see past my anger.”  He dropped his gaze and looked up at her through his eyelashes, like a shy boy.  “Did you... did you mean what you wrote?  That I’m your one true love?”

Blushing, she rubbed her cheek against the teddy bear as she hugged it tighter to her.  “Yes, but...”  Her eyes were sad as they caught his gaze.  “I also meant it when I said I want you to be happy.  If you can’t be that with me, then I’ll let you go --”

 _“No.”_  Lucifer stopped her words with a finger to her lips.  “No.”  He gathered to her him, teddy bear and all.  “Your father was right.”

He felt her jerk with surprise under his hands.  “My father?”

“Mm,” he said, nodding.  “We’re a match made in Heaven -- although I prefer to think your father had more to do with it than Dad.”

A chuckle escaped her.  “Me too.”

She looked up at him then, and Lucifer was struck by the beauty of her face, her soft expression, her golden hair tousled around her....  Her lips, so red and inviting, beckoned him.  Would she mind terribly if he kissed her?  His stomach flip-flopped as his heart started pounding so loud he was afraid she’d hear it.  He felt himself drowning the the depths of her aqua eyes, so dark with desire.  He leaned close -- so close that the fur of the white plushy toy she clutched tickled his chin.  Her lips parted, and her breath quickened.  Did she want this as much as he did?  A flush crept up his neck and into his cheeks, scorching him like a sunburn.

“Chloe --” he whispered.

Just a little closer, now....

The front door slammed open, causing them to spring away from each other with surprise.  Lucifer looked up to see Ella, Maze and Trixie pouring into the apartment.  Bloody hell, was the movie over, already?

“Lucifer!” Trixie squealed as she dashed up to him and threw herself into his arms.  “Why are you here?  Is everything okay with you and Mommy now?  Is it?  Is it?”

“Ah... right.  Yes.  All is well.”  Distress filled him as he stood and scrambled to get away from the little spawn who had somehow attached herself to his waist, yet again.  He shot a helpless, pleading look at Chloe.

Chuckling, she tapped her daughter on her shoulder.  “Hey, come on, let Lucifer go.”

Studying her mother and the fallen angel with narrowed eyes and a strangely adult look, Trixie took his hand.  “We need to talk.  Come with me.”

Panic filled him at the thought of being alone with the child.  “What?  Why?”

She thrust her lower lip out at him and folded her arms across her chest.  “It’s important.”  When he didn’t move, she yelled, “Maze!”

Moving faster than the eye could follow, Maze vaulted over the back of the couch and landed beside Chloe, Lucifer and Trixie.  Standing with her arms akimbo, she lifted an eyebrow at the Devil.  “You don’t really want to fight me, and Trixie wants to talk with you, so let’s go.”  She spared a glance at Chloe and her stuffed bear. “A Devil bear?” The demon broke out into loud guffaws as she turned to Lucifer.  “You’re so soft, Lucifer!”

Frowning, the fallen angel shot a disgruntled look at Maze and Trixie before squeezing Chloe’s shoulder.  “Excuse me for a moment, Detective.”

As he walked to the kitchen with the child and demon, Lucifer passed Ella, who gave him a thumbs up sign before going to sit with Chloe.  He wasn’t quite sure why she was giving him the thumbs up, but shrugged it off.  He could never quite figure out what Ella was trying to tell him, half the time.

Once in the kitchen, the demon and the child maneuvered him into a corner and crowded around him somewhat threateningly.  Lucifer blinked.  What was happening?  He looked from one to the other, at a complete loss.  “What is this?”

Maze’s mouth twitched in amusement.  “We’re having a little two-on-one.”

“Are you back together with Mommy?” Trixie asked.

Puzzled and a little thrown by the direct question, he rubbed the back of his neck.  “Why do you ask?”

“The little human asked you a question,” Maze said as she slammed her hand against the wall near his head and drummed her fingers.  “Don’t make me hurt you, Lucifer.  Just answer.”

“As if you could hurt me,” he scoffed, then quickly added, “But yes, we’re back together.”

Trixie broke into a wide grin.  “Good!  You better not hurt Mommy anymore, okay?  Because she was really sad.”

Lucifer’s heart lurched as guilt washed over him.  He had hurt Chloe... hurt her deeply.  The urge to do himself some harm was very great, for he had been a bloody fool.

Trixie was still talking -- he struggled to concentrate on her words.  “So you better be good, or else Maze and I will come after you.”

He gaped at them, stunned.  “You... you’ll come after me?  Bloody hell, are... are you giving me the _shovel talk?!”_

Maze smirked.  “That’s right, softie.  I’m the only one who gets to hurt Chloe, got it?  Hurt her again and I’ll bury you.”

“But -- you can’t give _me_ the shovel talk!”

“We just did,” Trixie said as she nodded sagely.

The Devil was at a loss for words.  He couldn’t believe that he was being given the shovel talk by a nine year old child and his own demon!  “I -- you -- b-but --”   He struggled to get his thoughts together.  “What about the detective?  Are you going to give her the shovel talk?  After all, _she_ could hurt _me --”_

Maze laughed outright at that.  “Are you kidding me?  She’d never hurt you.  You’re stupid to suggest it.”  Snickering, she walked away.

“Glad you understand,” Trixie said, patting his arm before she followed the demon.

He stared after them for a long time before a chuckle erupted from him.  Well, he deserved that, didn’t he?  After all, he had hurt his detective quite badly... something he needed to make amends for.  He poked his head around the corner and caught Chloe’s eye.  She smiled at him, looking so radiant that he was blinded for a moment.  His heart started hammering out a fierce beat and the butterflies in his stomach fluttered about so madly he thought they would burst forth from him.  Goodness, he loved her!

Grinning, the Devil headed back into the living room, where his family and heart lay.

 

 

________________________________________

 

 

Charlotte frowned as she leaned back in the chair in her office.  Why did she keep getting thwarted by Lucifer?  She couldn’t understand it.  Her last plan hadn’t gone well at all, although hiring that idiot human to kill Chloe, but first shoot at Lucifer as a red herring, seemed like such a good idea at the time.  She would have never done such a thing if she had known being around the pesky miracle child made her son vulnerable.  Unfortunately, the gunman had actually injured her son, and that was unacceptable.  She’d had to kill him -- something in which she’d taken great pleasure doing.  It had been quite satisfying, throwing the fool over the side of the building.  No one hurt her son.   _No one._

She had thought that Lucifer would come to heel once he had found out about Chloe’s birth, but when she spied on him today, she saw him go into the detective’s apartment -- and not come out.  She wanted to rip out her hair when she saw that.  Why did he keep going back to the human creature?  Why?!  What was it about Chloe that fascinated Lucifer so?

Well, no matter.  She had a new plan, now that she knew about Chloe’s birth.  One that couldn’t possibly fail to get Lucifer to fight his father for her.  Implementing it would be the tricky part, but all it would take would be a few more stories on AO3 as ImChloeD and some manipulation of Amenadiel.  Then she’d be back in Heaven and have the father of her boys right where she wanted him....

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoyed Meta-Lucifer Part 9! Part 10 is finished and will start posting from this Friday. It is an eleven-chapter story called, "What the Devil Desires." Mum is back to her old tricks.... :-S I hope you will join me! Thank you all so very much for keeping up with this Lucifer and Chloe, you all ROCK! <3

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Whack-A-Mole](https://archiveofourown.org/works/9617006) by [AnnaDruvez](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnnaDruvez/pseuds/AnnaDruvez)
  * [Warpath](https://archiveofourown.org/works/9768098) by [shadowolfhunter](https://archiveofourown.org/users/shadowolfhunter/pseuds/shadowolfhunter)




End file.
